What Sammys Can't Do
by maxandkiz
Summary: John is hunting a trickster and gets more than he bargains for when the trickster changes four year old Sammy into a twenty year old. Dean-8 Sammy-4
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

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Dean Winchester walked out of the bathroom and over to his duffle bag that was sitting on top of his bed. As he made his way around Sammy's bed he was surprised to find his little brother still sleeping. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand between the two beds Dean frowned. It was almost nine o'clock. Sammy was usually the first one up. He never slept this late. _"Except when he's getting sick."_ Dean amended. Changing course he quickly stepped up beside Sammy and gently brushed the bangs out of his little brother's face. He placed the back of his hand against Sammy's forehead letting out a relieved breathe at the lack of heat. Knowing that strep throat was going around at school Dean decided to keep a close eye on his brother for a while just in case. He walked over to his own bed and dug through his duffle for clean jeans and a shirt. After several minutes of searching, he managed to come up with a pair of jeans and shirt that didn't look too bad. He threw the towel onto his bed and swiftly pulled on his clothes. He then took the towel back into the bathroom before walking over to the table and plopping down in the closest chair. Patting his growling stomach Dean sighed. There was no way he would leave the room with Sammy still sleeping. Breakfast would just have to wait until the kid woke up. Propping his elbows on the table he laid his head on his hands and gazed at the curtained window. _"Wonder what dad's doing right now?" _he thought.

In an abandoned theater in the town of Storyville

John glared hatefully at his captor as the blond haired man fiddled with a small puppet stage. "You planning on boring me to death?" he spat out.

The young blond turned to John grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, please. That wouldn't be any fun." He said fastening the curtains back. "We're going to have a puppet show!"

"Aren't you a little old to be playing with toys?" John asked.

"Oh, you're never too old to play! Isn't that right, Steven?" the young man replied pulling a string to make the puppet in his hands nod. "See, Steven agrees with me."

John looked the puppet and narrowed his eyes. There was something very familiar about the wooden toy. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was. Looking at the puppet more closely John's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "That's that missing actor!" he shouted. "Steven, uh, Steven Montgomery!"

"Very good, John!" the younger man praised clapping his hands. "You catch on quick."

"You turned him into a puppet? What's a matter? You run out of good jokes?" John questioned with a smirk.

"Not jokes, tricks!" the trickster corrected stomping his foot. "And this was the perfect punishment for this pathetic mortal. You see, this Montgomery fellow thought he was going to be a big movie star when he got older. He didn't listen to his parents when they told him to go to school. Thought they were holding him back. He dropped out of school and started auditioning for shows. So I thought I'd show him what happens to little boys who don't listen to their parents."

"Turn him back!" John ordered as he struggled to break free of the ropes that bound him.

"I could, but no" the trickster replied dropping the puppet onto the stage and laughing at the barely audible "hey, watch it!". "See, he hasn't learned his lesson yet. But don't worry. If he's a good little puppet, one day he'll be a real boy again."

Rolling his eyes at the trickster's speech John thought for a moment and then spoke. "What about Ms. Perkins? That your work, too?" He paused for a moment before adding, "Well?"

"Well what? She was already a witch. Ask anyone in town. I just made her look the part." The younger man explained. "I thought the green face was a nice touch. Don't you?"

"No I don't." John growled. "She's been banned from the town. She can't set foot outside her house anymore."

"Oh, don't worry about the old bat. She'll live." The trickster assured. "They deliver groceries now and I was even nice enough to give her a mirror to keep her company. Course it only says how ugly she is, but hey it's the thought that counts."

Shaking his head John said, "How generous of you? That just leaves the last victim. Let me guess. That monster in the woods is the other missing man. Right?"

"Give that man a prize!" the trickster shouted picking up the puppet and hanging him up before he could escape. "Think he was my favorite. The arrogant jerk thought he was God's gift to the planet. Well, not any more. Now he's doomed to live as a beast in the woods until he can change his ways and make a beauty fall in love with him. Wonder how long…"

"Wait a minute!" John broke in. "Beauty and a beast? A witch with a talking mirror and a talking puppet? You're turning people into fairy tale creatures?"

"What can I say? I've been on a fairy tale kick lately." The trickster admitted with a chuckle. "Disney's fault really."

"So what are you gonna do with me? Turn me into a pig and find some wolf to blow my house down?" John fired back.

"Nah, not enough meat on them bones. Besides, the fairy tale act is getting boring." The blond stated snapping his fingers. "But don't worry. I have something very special in mind for you."

At the motel

No longer able to ignore his rumbling stomach Dean snatched up the room key and shoved it in his pocket. Telling himself that Sammy would be fine for the minute or two it would take him to get them something from the vending machines outside Dean confidently walked to the door. As he opened the door he heard a whimper coming from behind him. Thinking Sammy was having another nightmare, he shut the door and turned to go wake his little brother. Dean froze as he took in the sight before him. A strange green light surrounded Sammy! Another whimper set him in motion. Pulling his knife he ran over to his brother's bed and slashed at the mysterious light. The knife simply bounced off the light jarring Dean's whole arm. Stunned Dean slowly reached out and touched the light. When nothing happened he attempted pushing it away from Sammy but it was like pushing a brick wall. Knowing he couldn't use their gun for fear of hitting his little brother Dean started grabbing anything he could reach and throwing it at the light. Suddenly the light began to quickly pulse! Dean could only watch as the light attacked Sammy!

Storyville

John shot daggers at the trickster as he turned the crank. Biting back a cry of pain he concentrated on his breathing until the pain became manageable. "I'm gonna kill you!" he threatened.

"Kinda hard to do considering I'm not the one on the rack." The trickster pointed out.

"This the best you can come with?" John gruffly asked.

"Johnny, Johnny, Johnny. This is just the start of my plan. See I've been watching you and your boys for a while now and I must say I'm impressed. Your eldest, Dean I believe, is one heck of a soldier already. He's quite the parent, too. The way he looks after little Sammy warms my heart." The trickster told him placing both hands over his heart.

"Stay the hell away from my boys!" John shouted as he renewed his struggles against the heavy ropes.

"Sorry, no can do, big fella. See they're part of our game." The younger man replied strolling around the rack.

"What do you mean?" John asked pinning the trickster with a deadly glare.

Smiling at the enraged hunter the trickster walked over and leaned on the crank. "Well, I really shouldn't tell you. Don't want to spoil the surprise. But I guess I could give you a hint." Stepping up to the rack he leaned down. "You've been leaving the job of raising little Sammy to Dean. Right now that's working okay. The little guy really looks up to his big brother. Which made me wonder; what would happen if Sammy didn't look up to Dean anymore? Should be interesting to see." The trickster whispered. Standing he stepped a few feet away and grinned at his captive. "Bye now Johnny." He called out before disappearing.

As soon as the trickster left the ropes holding John's arms and legs to the rack vanished. Finally free of his bindings John took a moment to regain the feeling in his limbs before jumping off the table and racing to the warehouse door. He needed to find a phone and warn Dean!

At the motel

Dean jumped at the sound of the phone in the quiet room. Cocking his head to the side he listened as it rang once and stopped. Knowing the signal he dashed over to the table and snatched the phone on the first ring. "Dad! You gotta come back to the motel now! It's Sammy!" he yelled.

"What's wrong with Sammy, Dean!" John asked searching his pockets for his car keys.

"He's, he's..." Dean stammered.

"He's what Dean?! What the hell happened?!" John shouted in frustration.

Dean took a deep breath and tried again. "There was this light. It came into the room and covered Sammy. I tried to get it off him, dad. But everything just bounced off it."

Hearing the fear and panic in his son's voice John gentled his voice and calmly said, "Its okay Dean. Just tell me what happened, alright kiddo?"

"Okay, ummm the light, it started blinking and then Sammy, he, uh, he…" Dean stuttered.

John knew it had to be bad if Dean was freaking out. He listened to Dean's attempt at an explanation. Hearing a loud thump he hollered, "Dean! What's happening?"

"Dad! Dad, listen I gotta go! Just hurry and get here! Please?" Dean begged before hanging up.

John dropped the pay phone and sprinted toward the waiting impala. "Hang on Dean! I'm coming!" he whispered as he climbed into the car and tore out of the empty lot.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural-"Hang on Dean! I'm coming!" he whispered as he climbed into the car and tore out of the empty lot.

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Dean silently cheered when he heard the distant rumble of the impala's engine. Jumping out of his seat he raced to the window and pulled the curtain aside. He watched anxiously until the black beauty careened into the motel parking lot and slid into the empty space in front of their room. He swiftly walked to the door and then turned to Sammy. "Hear that, Sammy! Dad's home! He'll fix everything right up. You just wait and see." Hearing their secret knock Dean opened the door and threw his arms around his father's waist.

John stood frozen in shock as his eldest son hugged him tightly mumbling "I'm sorry daddy" over and over. Dean had quit hugging him as soon as he turned eight claiming he was too old for such childish things. That's also when daddy began dad. John knew things had to be bad for Dean to be acting this way. And where was Sammy? He usually jumped him the minute he set foot in the doorway. Worry for his baby going into overdrive John scooped up Dean and stepped inside the room closing the door behind him. John quickly glanced around the room eyes coming to rest on a figure on the boys' bed. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed reaching for his gun.

The trickster sat down in his comfy chair and picked up a strange looking remote. He pressed a large, green button and smirked as an image of the Winchesters' motel room appeared on the big screen in front of him. Setting a bag of popcorn in his lap he watched with glee as an upset Dean threw himself on his dad. The trickster laughed at the look on John's face when he noticed the "new" Sammy. Leaning forward he tossed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and whispered, "This is gonna be good."

John stared at the young man who was leaning against the headboard of the boys' bed. The chestnut haired man stared back at John with wide, terrified eyes. John noticed that the man's lower half was under the covers about a second before the fact that he was shirtless registered. Alarm bells went off in the eldest Winchester's brain compelling him to act. Dropping Dean to stand behind him John charged across the room. He quickly pinned the obviously naked stranger against the headboard with an arm across the man's throat. Pointing the barrel of the gun at the young man's forehead John growled out, "You just made a big mistake, you sick son of a bitch! Nobody messes with my boys!" John's arm pressed a little harder against the young man's throat as John readied himself for a fight. He wasn't prepared for the stranger's reaction however. Instead of fighting or pleading for his life the man on the bed began to cry. Stunned John stood with his mouth hanging open as the stranger drew his knees up to his chest and bawled like a baby. Feeling a tug on his arm John glanced back to see a frantic Dean attempting to pull him off the man.

Dean watched in shock as his dad attacked his little brother. Unsure of what to do he decided to give his dad a chance hoping that his father would put two and two together and figure things out before he did something they'd all regret. When his little brother began to cry, Dean knew he'd made the wrong decision. Racing over to the bed he grabbed his dad's arm and pulled with all his might. "Dad! Stop! You're hurting Sammy!" he screamed as he pulled on his dad's arm.

Hearing Dean's shout John looked at his oldest boy in confusion. "That's not Sammy, son. Sammy's only four. This guy's at least eighteen or twenty." John explained as he continued to restrain the young man.

"Dad, you gotta listen!" Dean urged still pulling on his father's arm. "That is Sammy. The green light…it made him grow bigger and bigger. And then it left when he was all grown up."

John glanced back at the young stranger and carefully looked him over. He dropped his arm and lowered his gun. When the stranger made no move to attack, John set the gun on the nearby night stand and slowly brushed the bangs out of the younger man's face trying to glimpse the man's face. But the younger man refused to lift his head. Frustrated John gripped the man's chin, gently tipped his head up and came face to face with his baby boy's puppy dog eyes. "Sammy?" John hesitantly asked.

The young man glanced from John to Dean before reaching out for the young boy and hollering, "Dean! Daddy's scaring me!"

Immediately Dean was at Sammy's side. Sitting next to his brother on the bed Dean found himself almost knocked backwards as all six foot four of his crying brother curled into his side. "It's alright Sammy." He soothed rubbing Sammy's back. "Dad didn't mean to scare you. He didn't know it was you."

John walked around the bed and took a seat on the other side of his now grown son. "Daddy's sorry, Sammy." He apologized running a hand through his son's hair.

Sammy stuck his thumb in his mouth and peered up at his father. He thought for a few moments before taking his thumb out of his mouth and timidly asking, "Daddy mad at me?"

"No, Sammy." John replied with a smile. "Daddy's not mad." _"at you."_ He added mentally. He held out his arms and was rewarded as Sammy launched himself into his father's embrace. "Its okay, Sammy. Its okay." John murmured as he began to slowly rock back and forth. "Daddy's gonna fix this."

Dean continued to rub his brother's back comforting himself as well as his brother. Looking up at his dad and brother Dean hoped his dad could find a way to fix Sammy. He wanted his little brother back.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

AN- I apologize for the long wait. A couple of things happened that really knocked me for a loop for a while. Things are slowly getting back to normal. Thanks for your patience.

Previously on Supernatural- Looking up at his dad and brother Dean hoped his dad could find a way to fix Sammy. He wanted his little brother back.

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John sat rocking Sammy until his crying ceased and only the occasional sniffle was heard. He leaned back against the headboard of the bed and propped his chin on his son's mop of hair. "You okay now buddy?" he whispered smiling at the answering nod. "Don't worry. Daddy's gonna fix this."

"See Sammy? I told you dad would know what to do." Dean confidently stated as he slid off the bed and walked around to stand beside his father. He turned hopeful eyes on John and asked, "Okay, so what do we need to do first?"

John reluctantly released his hold on his youngest and swung his feet off the bed. "Well I think our first job is to get Sammy here dressed. Then we'll go out for some breakfast. Sound good champ?"

Dean frowned. "Can't we turn Sammy back into a little kid first, dad?"

John knelt down in front of his eldest son and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll fix things as fast as I can but that might take a while sport. Afraid there's no quick fix this time." John explained. "I'll call Bobby for help. Hopefully he'll have some useful information for us."

"Umm, dad? What's Sammy gonna wear?" Dean questioned glancing at his brother. "All his clothes are kinda too small."

John ran a hand through his hair. "I guess he'll have to wear something of mine for now." He walked over to his duffle and dug around for a few moments before pulling out several items of clothing. After setting the clothes on the bed, he reached in his pocket retrieving a handful of coins. "Dean, go get us some water and snacks from the vending machine while I help your brother get dressed. I have a feeling it's going to be a very long day."

"Yes, sir" Dean replied taking the offered money. He stuffed it in the pocket of his jeans and headed for the door. "Be right back Sammy!" he called as he stepped out the door.

Happy to have an excuse to leave the room Dean took his time walking to the machines. He didn't mind helping little Sammy get dressed but big Sammy was a totally different story. That was one big brother job he could definitely do without. Making it to the machines he stood and looked at all the choices twice before picking the usual snacks. After getting three waters, Dean slowly made his way back to the room. Once there he set the water bottles on the ground long enough to knock on the door. He waited for his dad to open the door and then handed the snacks to him. Bending down he picked up the bottles and followed his father inside careful to keep his eyes on the ground just in case.

Sammy's eyes lit up when he saw his big brother. "Dean! Dean!" he shouted. "Look! I'm bigger than daddy!"

At the sound of his brother's voice Dean glanced up to see his "little" brother towering over their father. "Cool!" he exclaimed grinning.

"Cool?" John repeated staring at his first born. "You think this is cool?"

"Well, yeah." Dean replied nervously shifting from foot to foot. "If Sammy's gonna be that tall when he grows up, I'm gonna be a giant!"

John smirked at his son's logic. "I wouldn't be too sure about that sport. Sammy could always end up taller than you." He teased chuckling at the mortified expression on Dean's face.

"No way, dad! Big brothers are always taller than their little brothers." He corrected.

"If you say so." John replied reaching over to steady Sammy who was having a difficult time standing and walking on his new giraffe-like legs. John held onto Sammy's arm until he was sure his son had his balance. "Careful Sammy." He warned before letting go. "Alright boys, let's go get something to eat. I'm starving." He announced.

"Uh, dad. I don't think that's a good idea." Dean said looking his little brother over.

"Why not, Dean?" John asked as he grabbed his keys and wallet.

"One, Sammy can't even stand without wobbling around like a drunk coming out of a bar. Two, he looks like he's wading in water." Dean explained pointing to the jeans that were several inches too short. "And they look like they're about to fall…" Dean's sentence came to a halt as Sammy's jeans slid down to his knees.

Sammy reached down and grabbed his pants pulling them back up. "Daddy, my pants keep falling down!" he whined holding his jeans.

Sighing John walked over and tightened the belt holding Sammy's jeans. "There you go, kiddo. That should keep them up until daddy can get some the right size." He assured leading his son to the bed. "You sit here on the bed and watch TV with Dean while I go get us something to eat. Okay Sammy?"

"Okay daddy." Sammy replied smiling at John. "Can we have pancakes?"

"Sure champ. Three pancake breakfasts coming right up." John said ruffling his little boy's hair. He walked over and opened the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes Dean." He called out as he stepped out the door.

The trickster cackled as he shut off his screen and threw the remote on the table beside him. Wiping the tears from his eyes he stood and made his way into the next room. Things were working out much better than expected. The Winchester show was a riot. Conjuring a picture of the family the trickster added it to his overflowing wall of fame. Wanting to add a new twist to the family's dilemma the trickster carefully looked over the pictures of former victims for an idea.

After ordering the usual breakfast, John stepped out of the diner and quickly walked to the payphone by the side of the building. Snatching the receiver he quickly pounded out Bobby's number and waited impatiently for his old friend to pick up.

"Singer" a gruff voice answered.

"Bobby, its John. I need your help." John responded as he nervously eyed the surrounding area for any sign of trouble.

"What's wrong? The boys okay?" Bobby quizzed already grabbing his keys off the kitchen table and walking towards the front door.

"I was working a new hunt." John began. "People were turning up missing or changed. I figured out it was a trickster and I…"

"Let me guess" Bobby interrupted. "You went after the damn thing all by your lonesome."

"Yeah" John quietly confessed. "Thought I could handle it."

"You never take on something like that alone, you dang idgit! I thought I taught you better than that!" Bobby hollered into the phone as he stomped down the porch steps. "What's the damage?"

"He, uh, he made Sammy…" John stammered before blurting out, "HeturnedSammyintoagrownup."

Bobby stopped midstep and glared into the distance. "He what?"

John took a deep breath and started over. "The trickster physically aged Sammy. Kid looks like he's about twenty." John explained.

"Shit" Bobby whispered shaking his head. "Alright tell me where you are and I'll come straighten this mess out." he ordered.

After quickly relaying their location and thanking Bobby, John hung up the phone and walked back inside just as his order was called. He stepped up to the register, picked up, and paid for his order. John then swiftly made his way out of the diner and to the impala. Moments later the muscle car roared out of the parking lot and down the road.

At an unknown location

The trickster sighed as he continued to stare at his wall of fame. None of his former tricks were right for the hunter's family. He'd just have to find something else. Deciding to check in on the little group before he looked further, the trickster skipped over to his favorite chair and grabbed his remote. Sinking down onto his comfy chair he flicked on the huge screen. He chuckled as he watched a wobbly Sammy walk across the motel room while Dean attempted to simultaneously steady Sammy and keep from getting squashed by his now enormous sibling. The trickster's grin grew as John entered the room.

Back at the motel

John walked over and set the food on the small table before calling the boys. He watched as his baby boy made his way to the table only stumbling a couple of times. _"At least he doesn't look like a drunk anymore." _He thought sitting down between his two children.

Sammy slowly and carefully walked over to the table smiling when he managed to make it without falling. Grabbing the back of the chair he climbed into it on his knees before turning and dropping his legs. He looked down in surprise when he felt his feet hit the floor. Feeling like a big boy Sammy sat up with a smile. He liked being big. Hearing his stomach rumble he quickly picked up his plastic fork and dug into his food.

Dean poured syrup on his pancakes and cut off a piece with his fork. He stabbed the piece and started to lift it when he glanced over at his brother and froze. His mouth dropped open at the sight in front of him. Dean watched in amazement as Sammy practically inhaled his food! His little brother, who had never been able to eat more than half of the kids' breakfast, cleaned the plate in minutes.

"Daddy, can I some more? Please?" Sammy asked turning his puppy eyes on his father.

John stared at his son for a moment before pushing his plate toward him. "Here Sammy. You can have mine." He offered.

"Thank you" Sammy cheerfully replied scooping up a piece of pancake.

John shook his head as he watched his youngest eat. He kicked himself for not getting the kid a grown up breakfast. He hadn't even thought about it. He'd just ordered the usual out of habit. He'd have to be more aware of his grown son's needs from now on. Noticing that both boys were through eating John placed all the trash back into the bag and stood. "Come on boys. We need to get Sammy some clothes that actually fit him." John said opening the door. "You two get in the car. I'm gonna throw this in the dumpster over there."

"Yes sir" both boys answered.

Dean walked over to the impala stopping at the back door. Turning to his brother he said, "You're turn to open the door, Sammy."

Sammy glanced hesitantly from the door to his brother. "I can't Dean. It's too heavy." He whined.

"It was when you were little but you're a big boy now Sammy." Dean encouraged. "Come on. You can do it."

Sammy took another look at his brother's smiling face and stepped up to the door. Remembering how heavy the door was he grasped the handle and pulled with all his might. Sammy landed on his behind as the door flew open.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted rushing to his fallen brother. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Sammy stared up at Dean for a moment before grinning. "I did it, Dean!" he whispered in astonishment. "I opened the door all by myself."

"You sure did kiddo." Dean praised helping his giant of a brother up. "Now come on and get in before dad gets back."

Still grinning Sammy walked back over to the car and put both hands on the back seat and a knee beside the seat and attempted to climb into the car. When that didn't work, he stood and timidly placed his hands on the door before moving them to the roof of the car. He shifted his hands several more times trying to figure out how to get into the car.

John walked around the front of the impala and frowned at his boys. "I thought I told you two to get in the car." He barked.

"We're trying dad." Dean replied. "But Sammy can't figure out how to get in."

"What do you mean?" John asked. "Sammy knows how to get in the car. He's been climbing up into the car since…Oh, yeah. Got it." John came around the door and told Sammy to put his foot inside. He then put one hand on his son's head and the other on his back and helped him bend down and get in without hitting his head.

"Oh man!" Dean groaned. "You look like you're arresting him!"

John stood up laughing. "Cute Dean." He said playfully swatting the back of Dean's head.

Dean glared at his dad for a moment before jumping into the back seat and slamming the door.

John climbed in the front and backed the impala out of its parking space. Turning the wheel he drove out of the parking lot and down the road. Glancing in his rear view mirror he saw Sammy holding onto his stuffed dog with his thumb securely in his mouth. _"This is gonna be fun." _He thought as he turned into the local shopping center.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural-_"This is gonna be fun." _He thought as he turned into the local shopping center.

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John pulled into the first available parking space he saw and cut off the impala's engine. He twisted around in his seat so that he was facing his sons. "Alright boys, remember the rules. Stay beside me at all times, don't touch anything, and no whining." He instructed. "Understand?"

"Yes, sir" Dean replied opening the car door. "Come on Sammy. Put your dog down and let's go."

Sammy pulled his thumb out of his mouth and clutched his stuffed toy. "But Dean! Spot can't stay in the car by himself." Turning his kicked puppy look on his father he pleaded, "Spot can go in the store with us. Right, daddy?"

"Sorry, kiddo." John apologized. "Spot can't go with us this time."

"But he'll be scared out here all by himself!" Sammy cried holding the stuffed dog even tighter.

"Spot will be fine, Sammy." John assured reaching for something on the seat beside him. Holding up Sammy's stuffed bear he said, "Teddy can keep him company. Can't you, Teddy?" John gently shook the bear back and forth making it look like the stuffed toy was shaking its head before handing the toy to Sammy.

Satisfied Sammy carefully arranged the two stuffed animals on the seat while his father and brother waited impatiently next to the open car door.

"Good idea, dad" Dean praised.

"Actually you have your mom to thank for that one." John admitted with a smile. "She used to always bring an extra stuffed animal so you wouldn't holler bloody murder when you had to leave that little stuffed pig you carried everywhere."

"No way dad! I never carried any stupid stuffed animal around." Dean protested turning red.

"Afraid so son." John replied smirking at the indignant look on Dean's face. "In fact, if memory serves me right, your pig was a bright shade of pink. Your mom bought it the day she found out she was pregnant with you. I tried to talk her out of that pig, told her no little boy would want a pink pig. But I couldn't dissuade her. Mary was positive you were going to be a girl."

"Daaad." Dean groaned.

"Daddy! I'm ready to get out now!" Sammy hollered putting an end to the discussion.

"Alright Sammy. Watch me." John instructed. He opened the door and sat down in the driver's seat once more. After making sure he had his youngest's attention, the Winchester patriarch slowly climbed back out of the impala. Once he was out of the vehicle he turned to look at Sammy. "Now you do it." he encouraged.

Sammy glanced from Dean to his dad before carefully climbing out of the car. "I did it!" he shouted.

"Way to go, Sammy!" Dean praised patting his brother on the back.

"Let's go boys. Dean, get Sammy's hand." John ordered leading the boys across the parking lot.

Dean took Sammy by the hand and started after their dad.

"What a cute little boy you have!" an elderly woman told Sammy as she passed them. Glancing at Dean she said, "You be a good little boy for your daddy now."

Somehow Dean managed to stop the sarcastic remark that was just dying to come out. "Old bag." He huffed out as soon as she was out of hearing range. Hearing laughter he glanced up to see his father trying to smother his chuckles. _"Let's see how he likes it."_ Dean thought as the three stopped to let a car pass. Gazing up at his brother Dean whispered, "Sammy, you need to go hold dad's hand now. We're about to cross a street."

"Okay Dean" Sammy replied dropping his big brother's hand. He quickly marched up beside John and grabbed his hand. At his dad's surprised look Sammy said, "I gotta hold your hand to cross the street, daddy."

John threw a questioning glance at Dean before walking across the street with Sammy in tow ignoring the stares they were getting from passersby.

"Things have certainly gone downhill since that oaf of a man became major, Gladys." An elderly lady loudly told her friend as they passed by the Winchesters. "In my day you could go into town and not have to worry about seeing such indecent sights. Those kinds of people weren't welcome in stores. Now they just let anybody in."

"They must if they let you go inside." John interrupted. He glared at the stunned women for a second before turning his attention back to his boys. Once in the store John pulled a shopping cart out of the closest row and dropped Sammy's hand.

"Daddy, can I ride in the buggy?" Sammy innocently asked.

"Not this time, sport." John replied shaking his head.

"Hey, dad? Maybe Sammy could push the buggy." Dean offered.

"Can I, daddy? Please?" Sammy shouted jumping up and down in glee.

John looked over at his extremely excited son and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't sure if the store and its customers were ready for this. "Okay, Sammy you can push the buggy." John reluctantly said. "But you have to listen to daddy and do what he says. Okay?"

"Okay daddy!" Sammy agreed grabbing the handle of the shopping cart. "I'll be a good driver."

Praying that he wasn't making a huge mistake John took hold of one side of the buggy and started for the mens section of the store.

At an unknown location

The trickster quickly flicked the screen off and jumped up. Skipping over to the other side of the room he waved his hand opening the closet door. "Can't let this opportunity pass me by." The trickster said looking through his racks of clothes. "Now, let's see; do I go in as a customer or an employee?"

Back at the store

"Stop here Sammy." John called out as they came to a shelf full of blue jeans. Glancing around he noticed a rack of shirts a little further along the aisle. Pointing to the rack he said, "Dean, take Sammy and pick out a few shirts that you think might fit. Make sure you get different sizes."

"Okay, dad" Dean replied taking his brother's hand once more. The two boys each took one side of the rack and carefully searched through the shirts until they both had picked several to try. Shirts in hand they walked back over and deposited the clothes in the cart.

John grabbed jeans that were one and two sizes smaller than his making sure that the tag said "long". Throwing those on top of the shirts he steered Sammy and the cart in the direction of the nearest fitting room. After getting a hanger from the attendant, John took the jeans and two different sized shirts and trudged into the fitting room with his boys. Finding an empty stall he set the clothes inside and turned to Dean. "Alright sport. Stay right beside the door so I can keep an eye on you while I help Sammy." He told his eldest.

"Sure thing, dad" Dean replied settling himself on the floor.

John and Sammy walked into the stall and began the task of finding clothes to fit Sammy's new body.

At the trickster's

The trickster strolled up to the full length mirror and giggled. "It's perfect!" he crowed. "Winchester will never recognize me in this getup!" Waving a hand he disappeared from his current home.

Back at the store

John threw a couple of jeans and shirts into the cart and motioned for the boys to follow him. He grabbed some boxers and a pack of socks before walking back to the shoe aisle. He went down aisle after aisle until he finally found his size and up. Going over to Sam John placed one of his feet next to his baby boy's and then stalked off down the aisle coming back a few moments later with a large, red box. After sitting Sammy down on the floor, he ripped the pack of socks open and handed two to his youngest son. Once Sammy had the socks on John bent down and slipped a shoe on one of his son's squirming feet. He tied the laces and stood Sammy up before pressing down on the top of the shoe. Feeling Sam's toes at the end of the shoe John quickly pulled the shoe off, tossed it in the box, and walked back down the aisle. He repeated the action twice more finally coming up with a pair of black tennis shoes that fit perfectly.

"Where to now dad?" Dean asked watching his dad throw the shoe box in the cart.

"Pharmacy" John stated. "Daddy needs some aspirin."

At the motel

Bobby pulled up in front of motel grumbling when the impala was nowhere in sight. Pulling into an empty spot he cut the engine and stepped out of his old pick up. Deciding to go ahead and get a room he trudged to the office and disappeared inside.

At the pharmacy

Sammy stood beside the shopping cart looking at all the colorful boxes and bottles while his daddy loaded things into the cart. Seeing a purple box with grapes on it he started to walk over to get a closer look. Taking a step he tripped over the front wheel of the buggy and crashed to the floor. Sammy sat stunned for a moment before he burst into tears.

John spun around at the sound of his son's cries. He rushed over and dropped next to Sammy pulling him into a hug. "Shhh, it's alright Sammy." He soothed. "You're okay."

"What happened Sammy?" Dean asked rubbing his little brother's back.

"I, I, I fell, and the, the buggy hurt my, my hand." Sammy sobbed holding his hand out for Dean to see.

Looking at the small cut on Sammy's finger Dean smiled and said, "It'll be okay, Sammy. We'll put a band aid on it when we get back to the room. Okay?"

"But it huuuurts!" Sammy wailed burying his face in his father's shirt.

Hearing footsteps Dean looked up to see one of the pharmacists making his way over. "Uh oh, dad. Trouble at three o'clock." He whispered.

"He okay?" the pharmacist asked as he bent down in front of Sammy.

"Yeah, Sammy's fine. It's just a little cut." John assured the man.

"Hi there Sammy. My name's Dave." The pharmacist said smiling. "Would you like me to fix your boo boo for you?"

Sammy peeked at the stranger from the safety of his father's arms. "Will it hurt?" he timidly asked.

"Not one bit." Dave replied. "Promise."

"Okay" Sammy agreed with a sniffle. He stood and followed the chubby man to the pharmacy counter watching as Dave opened a small door and stepped inside.

"Alright Sammy put your hand right here on the counter and I'll get that all fixed up for you." Dave instructed as he placed a few items on top of the counter by Sammy's hand. Dave quickly and carefully treated the small cut before covering it with a Scooby Doo band aid. "There you go, young man. Good as new."

Sammy pulled his hand back and gazed at his band aid covered finger for a moment before grinning. "Thanks" he said.

"You're welcome Sammy" Dave replied.

Sammy waved at the pharmacist and walked over to Dean who was standing by the shopping cart.

"Thank you" John said shaking Dave's hand.

"Anytime sir." Dave replied. "I'm used to fixing up cuts and scrapes. My little sister's mentally handicapped, too. You folks have a good day now."

"You too" John called walking over to the boys. He grabbed the side of the buggy and led the boys down the next aisle.

Dean glanced back at the pharmacist thinking over what the man had told his dad. Eyes widening he stared up at his father and loudly whispered, "Dad! That guy thought Sammy was re…"

"Don't finish that sentence, Dean" John warned. "Now come on. Let's pay for this stuff and get out of here before something else happens."

"Yes sir" Dean replied dropping his head. He slowly followed his dad and brother to the closest checkout line.

John piled Sammy's new clothes and the medical supplies onto the counter and gave the young clerk a small smile. "Afternoon, ma'am." He greeted.

"Afternoon sir." The young woman replied scanning the first of several items. "Looks like someone's getting some new clothes."

"They're mine!" Sammy proudly announced. "My old ones don't fit no more."

The clerk shook her head at Sammy's announcement and continued scanning the clothes. After scanning the last item and stuffing it in a bag, she took the offered credit card and ran it through the machine. "Would you like a sticker, little boy?" she asked Dean while she waited for the card's approval.

"I do! I do!" Sammy hollered waving his hand.

The young clerk looked at Sam curiously. "Oookay." She said shrugging her shoulders. She reached over to the cash register and grabbed a roll of stickers. Taking one off the roll she placed it on the back of Sammy's outstretched hand. "There you go, mister."

Sammy glanced down at his new sticker and screamed in fright. Pulling the sticker off he threw it on the ground and latched onto John's arm.

Confused Dean leaned down and looked at the sticker groaning at the image. "Dad, it's a c-l-o-w-n" he whispered stomping on the offending sticker.

"Great." John sarcastically stated. Shaking his head he signed the receipt, threw the bags into the shopping cart, and started out the door. He quickly led the boys back to the impala and unlocked the doors.

"Dad" Dean whispered tugging on John's sleeve. "We've got another problem. Sammy had an accident."

"Of course he did." John muttered. Sighing John walked around to the trunk and grabbed the emergency blanket. He placed it on the back seat and then motioned for the boys to get inside. After throwing the bags into the front seat, John climbed in and quickly opened the aspirin bottle dry swallowing two. He closed the bottle and threw it on the seat before starting up the impala and driving out of the parking lot.

Hearing the distinctive rumble of the impala's engine Bobby walked out of the door to his room and watched as the muscle car pulled in the empty spot beside his truck. His jaw dropped when Sammy climbed out of the car. _"Damn, the kid's huge!"_ he thought as he walked up to the car.

"Uncle Bobby!" Dean shouted racing up to the hunter and throwing his arms around him. "You're gonna help dad fix Sammy, right?"

"Sure champ. We'll have Sammy back to his old self in no time." He assured Dean.

Bobby followed the Winchesters into their room and waited patiently while John helped Sammy change. As soon as John had the boys settled in front of the television Bobby looked at his old friend and said, "Alright Johnny. Spill."

John spent the next few hours laying out all his research and explaining the hunt. Afterwards, Bobby and John poured back over all the research only stopping to go out and get something for lunch and then supper. By the time eight o'clock rolled around they were no closer to figuring out the trickster's location than they were to start with.

"Bath time boys!" John called out.

"But dad…" Dean started.

"No buts Dean. You and Sammy go get your bath and get ready for bed." John instructed.

"Yes sir" Dean replied. "Come on Sammy. Let's go." Dean walked into the bathroom with Sammy leaving the door open just a crack.

John heard clothes rustling and was turning back to the research filled table when Sammy's loud voice floated through the open doorway.

"Look Dean! Mine's bigger than yours!"

Groaning John pushed away from the table and stomped over to the bathroom door. Throwing the door open he found both his sons standing in front of the small mirror flexing their muscles.

"Look daddy! I got big muscles!" Sammy happily shouted.

"That's good, Sammy." John said backing out of the bathroom and closing the door. Turning he saw Bobby doubled over with laughter. "Ha, ha. Very funny." John mumbled glaring at his friend.

"Oh God, Johnny! You should've seen your face!" Bobby got out amidst his laughter.

Rolling his eyes John dropped back in his seat and reached for the bottle of aspirin. He was getting another headache.

AN- Sammy and Dean's little bathroom fun was inspired by a conversation a second grade teacher overheard while walking past the boys' bathroom. And yes, they were talking about their muscles.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW. The Grinch, Max, and Whoville are property of Dr. Seuss. I own nothing.

Previously on Supernatural- Rolling his eyes John dropped back in his seat and reached for the bottle of aspirin. He was getting another headache.

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John and Bobby had just started their hunt discussion back up when Dean peered around the half open bathroom door. "Dad, do you think Sammy could take a shower instead of a bath?" He called out.

Sighing John slowly turned around to face his son. "No, Dean. Sammy's too little. Now I want you boys to quit stalling and get yourselves in that tub. Is that clear?" John ordered pointing to the other room.

"John" Bobby warned, "Let the boy finish." Looking over at Dean he asked, "What's the problem champ?"

Dean glanced timidly at his dad before turning his gaze to Bobby. "Sammy's too big to fit in the tub." He told his uncle.

"Crap. I didn't even think about that." John muttered getting out of his chair. He walked over to the bathroom door stopping in front of his eldest son. "Sorry I yelled at you Dean." John apologized. "Daddy's just tired. You stay out here with Uncle Bobby while I help your brother. Alright?"

"Okay dad" Dean replied with a smile. He watched his father walk into the bathroom and then hurried over to the table and climbed into a chair. "Hey Uncle Bobby? You up for a game of poker?"

"You're on!" Bobby challenged reaching for the deck.

In the bathroom

John walked into the bathroom to find Sammy standing in the middle of the room wearing nothing but his boxers. Looking down at the tub he shook his head in disgust. The small tub looked like it would barely hold both of his little boys. There was no way Sammy would fit now.

"Daddy, are you gonna take a bath with me?" a wide eyed Sammy asked.

"No Sammy. You're a big boy now and big boys don't take baths, they take showers." John explained.

"I can't get a bath with Dean no more?" Sammy sadly asked.

"Not right now kiddo." John replied. Seeing Sammy's lower lip begin to tremble John quickly added, "Its okay, Sammy. Showers are fun. It'll be like playing in the rain."

"Really?" Sammy questioned brightening. "I like playing in the rain. Me and Dean jump in puddles and make mud pies. Can I make mud pies in the shower, daddy?"

"Not in the shower." John blurted out. Running a weary hand through his hair he took a moment to calm down. Softening his voice he said, "Sammy, that's enough questions for now. It's getting late and Dean still needs to get a bath. Go ahead and get your underwear off and step in the tub so I can show you how to work the shower. Can you do that for daddy?"

"Okay, daddy" Sammy agreed. He quickly slid his boxers off throwing them in the pile with his other clothes. Stepping into the tub he lost his footing on the slippery surface and began to fall forward.

John quickly grabbed Sammy and held him until his son regained his footing once more. "Careful Sammy" he warned keeping a hand on his little boy's arm. Worried about his son falling and getting hurt while he was in the shower John quickly made the only decision he could. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the tub with Sammy.

In the other room

"I win again!" Dean crowed scooping up the pot of candy.

"Yep, you cleaned me out, sport." Bobby praised gesturing to the empty table in front of him. Hearing the shower turn off he glanced up at the bathroom door. "Sounds like Sammy made it through his shower without any trouble. Guess that means it's your turn."

"Yeah" Dean mumbled. He climbed out of his chair, gathered his winnings, and turned to put his candy in his duffle. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when his little brother and his father exited the bathroom with towels wrapped around their waists.

"Uh, Johnny…" Bobby began smirking as his friend turned bright red.

"Not one word" John warned digging through his bag for some clean clothes.

"Think I'll go take my bath now" Dean advised before dashing into the bathroom and shutting the door.

With the trickster

The trickster wiped the tears from his eyes and reached for his drink. "This is the best show I've seen in years!" he crowed. "Wish I'd met up with Johnny boy earlier." He watched as John helped Sammy get dressed for a few minutes before pausing the screen. "Bor-ing!" he called. "Think it's time for an instant replay." Pressing a button he quickly rewound the action on the screen until it came to the scene where John walked into the bathroom. The trickster pressed another button on his remote making the "movie" play once more. "Here we go. My favorite scene." He said leaning back in his chair to watch the action.

At the motel

Dean walked out of the bathroom and headed over to his duffle that was sitting on the far bed.

"That was a mighty fast bath, Dean." John observed.

Dean pulled his pajamas and underwear out of his duffle and dropped his towel. "That's cause I didn't have to wash Sammy's hair and make sure he did a good job getting himself clean." Dean tugged his too small shirt over his head and reached down to grab the towel. He walked into the bathroom, threw the towel with the other dirty clothes, brushed his teeth, and went back into the other room. Racing over to the farthest bed from the door Dean jumped up beside his brother. "Story time Sammy." He announced as he crawled under the covers. "What book are we reading tonight, squirt?"

"This one!" Sammy hollered holding up a battered red book.

"Aww man!" Dean groaned. "Not that one! You've heard it a million times already! 'Sides it's not even close to Christmas!"

"But me and Spot like this one!" Sammy argued poking out his bottom lip. He held his stuffed dog up next to his face and stared at his big brother with his best puppy dog look. "Please, Dean?"

Faced with two sets of sad puppy eyes Dean relented. "Alright, alright, you win." He said. Leaning back against the headboard of the bed Dean took the offered book. Rolling his eyes he opened the book and began to quietly read, "All the whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville did not."

Sammy snuggled under the covers and curled into his big brother's side. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and laid his head back on the pillow listening to Dean read. Eyes slowly blinking as he fought to stay awake he listened as the Grinch and Max made the Santa suit and started down the hill on their sled. He was asleep before the Grinch visited his first house.

John crept over and sat on the end of the bed. "Dean, why don't you sleep in my bed tonight? That way you and Sammy will both have enough room."

"But where are you gonna sleep?" Dean sleepily asked.

"Don't worry about me sport. I'll bunk over on the couch." John explained. "Besides Uncle Bobby and I have a lot of work to do before we can even think about going to bed."

"Okay dad" Dean agreed. He carefully slid out from under the covers and walked over to his father's bed. Climbing up he pulled the covers up and looked over at his sleeping little brother. "Dad, what if Sammy has a bad dream? He'll freak if he wakes up and I'm not there."

"Sammy will be fine, Dean." John assured his son. Bending down he pulled the covers up to Sammy's chin and tucked them around him before kissing his baby boy's forehead. Standing he walked over to Dean's bed and quickly tucked him in chuckling at Dean's grumbled, "I'm not a baby." When John leaned over to kiss his oldest goodnight, he was surprised to find himself being pushed away.

"Daaad! Not in front of Uncle Bobby!" Dean protested holding up his hands to stop his father.

Grinning at his son's sudden embarrassment John settled for ruffling Dean's hair. "Night Dean"

"Night dad." Dean yawned. He turned on his side facing his brother and quickly fell asleep.

John watched his boys sleep for a few minutes and then trudged back to the table. Dropping into the nearest chair he let out a sigh. "Alright Bobby. Let's get back to work." He declared reaching for one of Bobby's old books.

Hours later

"Looks like we need to start back at the beginning, Johnny." Bobby pointed out. "We need to go back and talk to witnesses and go over every bit of evidence you have. There's gotta be something we're missing."

"Alright" John agreed, "I'll just grab my …"

"No John" Bobby said taking the coat from his friend and hanging it back on the chair. "This can wait till morning. There's nothing we can do till then anyway. Let's just call it a night and come at it fresh in the morning."

"Bobby, I'm not gonna just lay around and do nothing!" John hissed.

"Uhh, Johnny" Bobby whispered gesturing at the beds.

Spinning around John glanced over to find Sammy staring at them with wide, tear-filled eyes. He quickly made his way over to the bed and took a seat beside his youngest. "Hey, little man, what are you doing up?" he whispered.

"I don't feel good, daddy" Sammy whimpered as the tears began to fall.

Frowning John placed the back of his hand against Sammy's forehead. Relieved to find no fever he brushed the bangs out of his son's eyes and asked, "What hurts, Sammy?"

"My head" Sammy replied pointing to his forehead.

"Want the aspirin, John?" Bobby asked snatching the bottle off the table.

"Yea" John said. "No wait Bobby. That won't help. Sammy doesn't know how to swallow pills yet. You got any liquid Tylenol in your kit?"

"No, but I can go get some." Bobby told him. Grabbing his coat he headed for the door.

"Bobby, it's after midnight. Nothing's going to be open." John pointed out.

"That won't stop me." Bobby boasted opening the door. "Be right back."

"Thanks, Bobby" John whispered. Turning his attention back to his youngest he leaned back against the headboard and pulled Sammy up to rest against his chest. Knowing it would take Bobby a while to procure the needed medicine John reached over to the night stand and picked up the well worn book. "Want daddy to read to you, Sammy?" he quietly asked. Feeling a small shake of Sammy's head he glanced down at his son. "No?"

Sammy looked up at his dad and pulled his thumb out of his mouth. "No daddy. Sing."

Blinking back the surprise John wrapped his arm tighter around his baby boy. "Sammy, daddy can't sing."

"Please, daddy." Sammy softly cried. "Dean always sings to me when I'm sick."

John glanced over at the other bed where his eldest was peacefully sleeping. "Okay, Sammy. I'll try." John agreed racking his brain for a song that wouldn't make Sammy's headache worse. Coming up empty he asked, "Sammy what does Dean sing?"

"Mommy's song" Sammy simply said. "The one she always sang before he went to sleep."

Stunned John glanced back over at Dean. His mind drifted to the last time he and Mary had tucked a rambunctious Dean into bed. He remembered reading the story while Mary put Sammy to bed. And then she had come in and tucked Dean in before sitting on the bed and singing. The long forgotten song slowly made its way into his mind as he continued to watch his beautiful Mary. A small whimper of pain brought him back to the present. John pulled Sammy closer to him and kissed the top of his head. Seconds later his deep bass voice filled the room.

"Sleep, my love, and peace attend thee all through the night."

"Guardian angels God will lend thee all through the night."

An hour later, Bobby quietly walked in to find all three Winchesters fast asleep. Walking between the two beds he set the liquid Tylenol on the night stand before covered John and Sammy with the blanket the best he could. He crept back over to the door. "Sleep well my friend" he whispered walking out the door.

The song John sang is "All Through the Night".


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW. Pooh and Tigger are the property of the Disney Corporation.

Previously on Supernatural- He crept back over to the door. "Sleep well my friend" he whispered walking out the door.

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The next morning

Dean awoke to the smell of freshly made pancakes and sausage. Opening his eyes he saw his dad and Uncle Bobby sitting at the table quietly talking while they ate. Yawning he sat up in the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. After throwing his blanket aside, Dean turned, slid his legs over the side, and hopped off the bed. Looking over at the other bed he noticed that Sammy was still sleeping peacefully. He glanced at the clock and frowned. It was already nine o'clock.

"Let him sleep, Dean" John whispered making Dean jump. Placing a hand on his son's shoulder John steered Dean over to the table and motioned for him to take a seat. "Sorry I scared you champ; I just didn't want you to wake your brother. He had kind of a rough night."

"Did he have another nightmare?" Dean asked taking the plastic cover off his breakfast tray and reaching for a fork.

"No, it was a headache. I gave him some Tylenol a little while ago. He should be alright once he wakes up." John explained. Standing he threw his trash in the wastebasket and grabbed his keys. "Dean, Bobby and I need to go out for a bit. Think you can hold down the fort here for me?"

"Yes sir" Dean replied.

"Now wait a minute, Johnny." Bobby protested. "Do you really think it's a good idea leaving the boys in the room by themselves?"

"We don't have much of a choice, Bobby. I don't want to wake Sammy up and he's too big for me to carry. Besides, there's not enough room in the back of the impala for him to lie down comfortably." John pointed out. "They'll be fine here. Dean will make sure of it, won't you, sport?"

"Yes sir. I'll take good care of Sammy while you're gone." Dean answered.

"I don't like this, John. The trickster's still on the loose. He could always go after the boys again. Why don't you stay here while I check out the warehouse?" Bobby offered.

"No way, Bobby. You're not going without backup. That's how we got into this mess in the first place." John grumbled walking to the door. "The boys will be fine till we get back. Now let's go. We're wasting time."

"I still don't like it." Bobby muttered heading for the door. He stopped at the doorway and turned to Dean. "We'll check in with you every half hour. Don't open the door for anyone till we get back."

"Don't worry Uncle Bobby. I know what to do." Dean assured his uncle.

After taking one last look around the room, Bobby stepped outside shutting the door behind him.

At the warehouse

"Oh those two are too much! Do they really think I'd make things that easy for them!" the trickster huffed. Skipping over to the puppet stage he picked up the struggling marionette and held him up so they were eye to eye. "Guess we get things ready for our guests, huh Steven?"

He giggled as the puppet let loose a string of curse words that would make a sailor blush. "Now, now Steven is that any way to talk to your manager. You really need to work on that temper of yours. You'll never be a real boy with a mouth like that." The trickster scolded. "Now be a good boy and wait right here while I prepare for our friends." Dropping the marionette back on the stage the trickster happily dashed around the warehouse packing various supplies and setting items out for the hunters arrival.

At the motel

Dean flicked the television off and threw the remote down onto the couch beside him. He stared at the blank screen for a moment before getting up and trudging to the window. Standing to the side he carefully pulled the edge of the curtain back and peered outside. He watched a group of boys playing baseball in the vacant lot across the street and imagined that he was out there with them. Dropping the curtain he positioned himself in batting stance and held up his imaginary bat. He kicked at the floor a few times and then settled back in his stance.

"Dean Winchester comes up to the plate. The pitcher takes the signal from the catcher. There's the wind up and he throws his famous fast ball!" Dean narrated swinging his arms in a batting motion. "And it's a deep hit to right field! It's going, going, gone! Home Run!!! The crowd goes wild!" Dean slowly ran around the table waving at the cheering crowd. He jumped onto home plate and taking off his imagined hat he took a bow. He had just started celebrating with his team mates when a rustling noise caught his attention. Leaving his imagined game Dean rushed over to the bed and sat down beside Sammy. Noticing the twin red spots on Sammy's cheeks Dean reached out and placed a hand on his brother's forehead. Alarmed by the heat he felt there he raced over to his father's duffle and dug through coming up with their first aid kit. Popping the lid he quickly located the thermometer and hurried back to his little brother's side making it just as Sammy opened his eyes. "Morning Sammy" Dean greeted. "You okay?"

Sammy shook his head as tears began to fill his eyes. "Hurts, Dean" he croaked.

"Is it your head? Is that what hurts, Sammy?" Dean questioned brushing the bangs out of his brother's eyes.

Sammy shook his head once more and pointed to his throat.

"_Crap!"_ Dean thought. He smiled down at his little brother and ran a soothing hand through Sammy's mop of hair. "Your throat hurts, huh? Don't worry, Sammy. I've got something that will make you feel better." Dean assured him. "But I need you to do something for me first. I need you to hold this under your tongue. Can you do that for me, Sammy?"

Sammy nodded and obediently opened his mouth allowing his big brother to slide the thermometer in. He closed his mouth around the instrument and leaned into his brother's caressing hand.

Dean continued to stroke his little brother's hair as he waited anxiously for the thermometer to finish. Hearing the beep he let out a relieved breathe before carefully taking the instrument out of Sammy's mouth. Glancing at the digital display Dean's eyes widened.

At the warehouse

John angrily stomped down the stairs and over to an office door where Bobby was waiting for him.

"I'm guessing you didn't find anything." Bobby said.

"Not one damn thing! There's nothing to even suggest he's been here!" John ranted.

"Well now, I wouldn't say that." Bobby remarked holding up a folded piece of paper and handing it to his friend.

Snatching the paper John swiftly unfolded it. He stared down at the message for a moment before turning confused eyes on Bobby. "Tick, tock? What the hell does that mean?" he asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we're running out of time to change Sammy back?" Bobby guessed. "What about the "ttfn" part? Any idea about that one?"

"That's easy. It's one of Tigger's favorite sayings-Tah, tah, for now" John explained. "What? Sammy likes to watch Pooh, okay?"

"Right. Sammy likes it." Bobby teased walking to the door. He held the door open for John and then followed him out. "That reminds me. There's a payphone over there." He said pointing to a booth on the corner as he dug some change out of his pocket. "Go call Dean. I promised the kid we'd check in every half hour and it's way past that."

"Okay, but I'm telling you they're fine." John replied motioning for Bobby to keep his money. He walked over to the booth and picked up the receiver. Hearing a dial tone he put his quarter in the slot and quickly dialed the number for their room. He let it ring once before hanging up and redialing ignoring Bobby's eye roll. "Dean, how's…what's wrong?...How bad?...Shit! Okay, did you give him any Tylenol?…fill it up to the second line…good, we're on our way, Dean." Dropping the receiver John turned and quickly sprinted to the car with Bobby in hot pursuit. They needed to get back to the room. Now!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural- Dropping the receiver John turned and quickly sprinted to the car with Bobby in hot pursuit. They needed to get back to the room. Now!

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The impala careened into the motel parking lot and skidded to a stop right in front of the Winchester's room. Cutting the engine John pushed open his door, climbed out of the car, and raced to room number four. He knocked the secret code before unlocking the door and hurrying inside. Seeing Dean sitting on the bed watching over his sleeping younger brother John silently crept up to the side of the bed. "How's he doing, Dean?" he whispered taking a seat at the end of the bed.

"Not good dad. I gave him the Tylenol and he fell asleep a few minutes ago." Dean reported. "But I think he's got strep. A bunch of the kids at school have been out with it."

"But that doesn't make sense Dean." Bobby interrupted. "How could Sammy catch something from the kids at school? He's only four. He doesn't go to school."

"That's not exactly true, Bobby." John replied. "See, they have this experimental class they're trying here this year. It's a class for four year olds called Pre-K. I wasn't gonna let Sammy go but he's always wanted to go to school like Dean. And I needed to research the trickster without a certain little boy causing any distractions so I figured I'd let him try."

Bobby frowned and shook his head. "Pre-K? That's the most hare brained thing I've ever heard of. What are they gonna do next? Send kids to school as soon as they're born?"

"Daddy?" Sammy croaked opening his eyes.

"Hey, kiddo" John said smiling down at his youngest son. "You feeling any better?"

Shaking his head Sammy sat up. He crawled into John's lap and stuck his thumb back in his mouth. Leaning back against his dad he began to lay his head down only to jerk up in surprise when John's shoulder wasn't where it was supposed to be. Sammy looked over and down at his dad in confusion before scooting over a little and leaning down so he could rest his head on his daddy's shoulder.

"It's okay Sammy. Daddy's gonna take care of you." John assured as he rubbed his baby boy's back. Glancing over at Dean he said, "Go get your brother's pants and shoes for me. We need to take him to the ER."

"We can't do that John." Bobby argued. "They'd ask too many questions and probably end up putting him in the psych ward."

"No they won't." John fired back. "We'll tell them that Sammy's my mentally handicapped little brother. That'll explain his behavior."

"What if he calls you daddy? How are you gonna explain that?" Bobby asked.

"Well, I'll just say that, uh, that…" John stammered. "I don't know. I'll think of something."

"That's what I'm afraid of" Bobby said walking over to the room phone. "I've got a better idea. You go ahead and get Sammy dressed and ready while I make a phone call."

"Okay, Bobby" John agreed. Turning back to the boys John took the jeans from Dean and helped Sammy put them on and then began putting on Sammy's socks and shoes while Dean searched for Sammy a clean shirt.

Dean picked up a light blue shirt with a horse on it. Rolling his eyes in disgust he carried it over to John. "Dad, there's something else." He whispered as he helped his father wrangle the shirt on Sammy. "There's this weird tattoo on Sammy's left hand. It looks kinda like a clock."

John took Sammy's hand and turned it over. A bright clock design covered the space where the clown sticker had been the day before. Looking at the design carefully John noticed that the clock had the numbers zero through five spread out around the circle. The lone clock hand was pointing to the number five and the words "tick tock" were curved around the hand. Licking one finger John rubbed it across the design but the ink didn't smear or fade in the slightest. Deciding the only thing they could do for now was watch it carefully he laid Sammy's hand back down and went back to dressing his little boy.

Bobby hung up the phone a few minutes later and turned to find Sammy dressed and ready to go. Smiling he walked over to the small family and sat on the opposite bed. "Alright, I just got off the phone with Dr. McCoy, remember him John?" He waited for his friend's nod and then continued. "I explained the situation and he said to bring Sammy to his office. So throw all your stuff in your duffles and follow me. We'll get Sammy taken care of and then head to my place until we can work things out."

"But Bobby, that's over an hour away." John pointed out. "I don't want Sammy to have to wait that long. Besides, the trickster's here."

"The doc said that Sammy would be alright till we got him there. The Tylenol will lower the fever and he said we could give him a popsicle to sooth his throat." Bobby told him as he grabbed the boys' already packed duffles. "As for the trickster, he's probably long gone by now. Our best bet is to get to my house and see if we can figure out his next move."

"I guess so." John hesitantly agreed. He sat Sammy down on the bed and walked over to his own bag. Throwing it on the extra bed he quickly tossed all his clothes and supplies into it and zipped it up. "Come on boys. Let's go." He ordered shouldering his bag. Seeing Sammy raise his arms to be picked up he sighed. Walking over he sat back down beside his son. "Sorry Sammy. Daddy can't carry you. You're too big." John helped his little boy stand and led him out of the room trying his best to ignore the tears running down his baby's face.

At the doctor's

An hour and a half later Bobby's pick up pulled into the back of a small office building followed by the impala. Stepping out of the truck he hurried over to the impala and waited by the back door while John tugged Sammy out of the car. Once they had Sammy out the small group made their way in the back door of the building.

John and Bobby maneuvered Sammy into the first chair they saw. Leaving Sammy with Dean they walked over to the desk in one corner of the room where two familiar faces were standing. "Jim? Scotty? What are you two doing here?" Bobby asked as he reached over to the desk and rang the bell.

Jim, the younger of the two answered. "Our hunting dog got attacked by a bobcat. Tore him up good before we could get the thing off of him. Doc McCoy's was the closest so we brought him here."

"You do know that Dr. McCoy is a people doctor, not a vet, right?" Bobby asked.

Scotty, an older man with salt and pepper colored hair, nodded his head. "Course we do. But Angus wouldn't have made it all the way across town to the vet. It was here or nothing." He explained. Hearing a door bang open all four men turned.

An older man with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes walked out of the exam room and stepped up to the four hunters.

"Well, McCoy?" Jim anxiously asked. "Is he?"

Dr. McCoy sadly nodded his head. "He's dead, Jim. There was just too much damage."

"Thanks for trying doc." Scotty said shaking the doctor's hand.

"You're welcome, Scotty. Just wish I could have saved him." Dr. McCoy stated. "Listen, I need to take care of these good folks. Why don't you and Jim go on in there with him? Take all the time you need." He watched the two men go through the double doors before turning to Bobby and John. "Hey, Bobby, John. Sounds like you guys have had an interesting couple of days."

"That's one way to put it." Bobby mumbled under his breath as the three walked over to the two boys.

"Dr. McCoy, these are my sons Dean and Sammy." John introduced pointing to each boy. "Boys, this is Dr. McCoy."

"Hey" Dean greeted.

"Hi Dean" Dr. McCoy replied bending down to the boy's eye level and shaking his hand. "And you must be Sammy." He said extending his hand to the young man. "Why don't you and your daddy come back in the back with me so I can take a look at that throat of yours?"

Sammy glanced nervously at Dean before hesitantly nodding. Standing he grabbed his daddy's hand and followed the doctor through the doors and into another room. Once inside the doctor had him lay down on the bed in the middle of the room. Sammy listened carefully to Dr. McCoy opening his mouth for the thermometer and then later so the doctor could examine his throat.

"It looks like strep, alright." Dr. McCoy said reaching for a swab. "I'm going to do a rapid culture just to make sure. Sammy, I need you to open your mouth really wide for me, okay?"

"Will it hurt?" Sammy quietly asked staring at the swab in the doctor's hand.

"Not a bit." The doctor replied with a smile. "I'm just going to swab a little spot in your mouth, like this." Doctor McCoy took the swab and rubbed it on Sammy's arm making the boy giggle. He then threw that swab away, got a sterile one, and quickly swabbed Sammy's throat. "We just need to give it a few minutes and then we'll know for sure."

"What happens if it is strep?" John asked. "How do you treat it?"

"Well, I'll start Sammy on a round of penicillin." Dr. McCoy replied. "He's not allergic to penicillin, is he?"

"No, he's not." John answered running a hand through Sammy's hair.

"Good." Dr. McCoy stated. The two men quietly talked while they waited for the results of the rapid culture. Several minutes later with a positive culture in hand Dr. McCoy told John he would be right back and went out to get the supplies he needed for Sammy's penicillin injection.

John continued to stroke Sammy's hair hoping to lull the boy to sleep before the doctor came back in the room with the dreaded shot. Unfortunately for John Sammy was still wide awake when the doctor walked in moments later with needle in hand.

Sammy took one look at the sharp instrument in the doctor's hand and jumped off the table. He backed himself into one corner of the room and crouched down crying, "No daddy! No daddy!" over and over.

After motioning for Dr. McCoy to give him a minute, John turned and walked over to Sammy. Kneeling down in front of his distraught son he smiled. "Calm down, Sammy. It's alright. The doctor just needs to give you a little shot to make you feel better."

Sammy vehemently shook his head. "No daddy! No owee!" he cried.

"No owee, Sammy." John assured. "That shot's not gonna hurt. You're a big boy now."

"Nuh uh!" Sammy hollered. "Dean said it wouldn't hurt last time and it did!"

"_Great!"_ John thought. _"What now?"_ Knowing he couldn't just pick Sammy up and hold him like he usually did John decided that there was only one other thing he could do. Hating himself for what he was about to do John plastered on his "mad dad" face and sternly said, "Samuel Winchester! Stop that this instant!" Seeing his youngest freeze in fear at the tone John took a deep breath and continued, "Now, you go get on that bed right now before I spank you."

With hitching breaths Sammy slowly stood and walked over to the bed. Laying back down he stuck his thumb in his mouth as the tears fell down his face.

John ran a hand across his face as he made his way back over to the bed. He sat down beside Sammy and unfastened his son's jeans. He rubbed Sammy's back with one hand while pushing the jeans down a little with the other exposing Sammy's hip. Wincing as the needle pierced the skin and Sammy screamed John continued his attempts to comfort his youngest. As soon as the needle was removed he quickly pulled Sammy's jeans up, fastened them, and scooped his son up. Settling Sammy in his lap he hugged him tightly to his chest and slowly began to rock murmuring reassurances in his little boy's ear.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural- Settling Sammy in his lap he hugged him tightly to his chest and slowly began to rock murmuring reassurances in his little boy's ear.

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Dean paced back and forth across the waiting room stopping every once in a while to glare up at the closed door his dad and brother had disappeared behind. He didn't understand why his father had made him stay behind. He always went in the room with Sammy and kept him calm so the doctor could examine him. So what if Sammy was big like their dad now. He was still his little brother and it was Dean's job to take care of him. Dean's head shot up as a scream cut through the silence of the waiting room. He'd know that voice anywhere. _"That's_ _it!"_ he thought as he raced over to the door. He quickly grabbed the doorknob and started to pull it open when a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. Spinning around he glared up at his Uncle Bobby. "Let me go! Sammy needs me!" he growled as he attempted to break his uncle's hold.

"Sammy will be fine Dean. Your dad's with him." Bobby assured tightening his grip on the struggling Winchester.

"But they're hurting him!" Dean replied.

"He probably got a shot. That's all." Bobby said as he began to drag Dean back to the row of chairs by the opposite wall. "Now come on and sit down. All that pacing is making me tired."

Dean reluctantly allowed Bobby to guide him over to the chairs. Taking a seat he propped his elbows on his knees. Dropping his head into his hands he mumbled, "Sammy hates shots. I should be in there with him."

Bobby sat watching the closed door hoping that John and Sammy would come walking out soon. He didn't think he'd be able to keep Dean from going after his brother for much longer. Looking down at his charge Bobby silently cursed John Winchester for putting so much responsibility on Dean's small shoulders. The kid should be out playing with friends not being father and mother to his four year old brother. Bobby sighed. He'd have to have a long talk with his friend about the boys once they got Sammy back to normal. _"And won't that be fun."_ He thought glancing up as the waiting room door slowly opened and John and a sniffling Sammy stepped out.

"Dean!" Sammy cried as soon as he saw his big brother. Dropping his daddy's hand he ran towards his brother seeking the comfort he'd been missing.

Seeing all six ft. four of Sammy barreling toward Dean Bobby hurriedly stepped between the two boys and putting out his hands braced himself to catch his nephew.

Huffing at his uncle's actions Dean walked out from behind Bobby and climbed into the nearest chair. Raising his arms he called out, "I'm right here Sammy."

Sidestepping Bobby Sammy dashed over to Dean and buried his head on his big brother's shoulder. "Dean! Dean! Where were you? I got a shot and it hurts! And, and daddy said he was gonna sp-spank me!" he cried clutching Dean's shirt tightly.

Dean wrapped his arms around his little brother. "Shh, it's okay Sammy." He soothed glaring at his dad. "It's all over now. I got ya." He continued to whisper reassurances to Sammy not even noticing when the outside door opened and a stranger stepped inside.

The newcomer, a man with close cropped black hair, walked into the waiting room and up to the counter. Ringing the bell for the doctor he turned and glanced at the small family one eyebrow rising at the sight of Dean and Sammy.

Doctor McCoy walked into the room paper in hand. Seeing the waiting man he rolled his eyes and went over to the counter. "For Heaven's sake stop staring at those boys Leonard." He hissed. "You act like you've never seen people before."

Leonard looked over at the doctor. "An explanation, please Dr. McCoy." He said glancing back at the Winchesters.

"The little boy on the chair is just comforting his brother." Dr. McCoy explained shaking his head at Leonard's continued staring.

"That's highly illogical." Leonard responded. "The man should be comforting the boy, not the other way around."

Knowing he was fighting a losing battle Dr. McCoy decided to change the subject. He wanted Leonard out of there fast before John or Bobby caught him staring at their boys. "Whatever, look I don't have any lab work for you today, Leonard. Go on to your next stop and I'll see you tomorrow." He said guiding the younger man to the door. "Bye Leonard."

"Goodbye Dr. McCoy" Leonard returned. He cast one last glance at the boys before walking out the door.

Letting out a relived breath Dr. McCoy watched Leonard disappear around the corner and then walked over to John and Bobby. "Sorry about that." He apologized. Handing the paper to John he said, "I called Sammy's prescription in to the 24 hour pharmacy down the street. They'll have it ready by the time you get there. Give him his first dose tonight after supper. And fair warning, I told them to give you the liquid and it doesn't taste very good. But it's important for him to finish the whole prescription even if he's feeling better."

"Thanks, doc" John said shaking McCoy's hand. "Anything else I need to know?"

"Yeah, keep giving him Tylenol for the fever and you might want to pick up a throat spray or some popsicles for his throat." The doctor told him. "Make sure he drinks plenty of liquids. I don't want him getting dehydrated. Oh, and if you manage to change him back before he finishes the antibiotic, call me so we can change the dose."

"Got it." John replied. "Guess we're ready to go now."

"Wait a minute, John. There's one more thing I need to give Sammy." Dr. McCoy stated. He hurried through the door and into the back. He reappeared a couple of minutes later with his hands behind his back and walked up to the boys. "Sammy, I've got something to make your throat feel better." He said. Smiling he held up a grape popsicle.

Sammy's eyes lit up at the sight of the treat. Reaching out he carefully took the popsicle and popped the end in his mouth. "Can Dean have one, too?" he shyly asked around the pop.

"Sure. I wouldn't forget him." Dr. McCoy replied handing a popsicle to Dean. "Take good care of your brother Dean. I don't want to see him back here."

"Don't worry doc. I'll make sure Sammy takes all his medicine." Dean assured jumping off the chair.

"Good man" McCoy praised. He followed the family to the door and held it open for them. "Bye boys!" he called. "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything." Closing the door he walked back to the counter. It had been an interesting day so far with a hunting dog and then a boy in a man's body. He couldn't wait to see what was next.

Bobby's house

After a quick stop at the pharmacy, the group drove the short distance to Bobby's house. Pulling up in front of the house John cut the engine and climbed out of the car. He opened the back door and smiled at the sight of Dean cradling a sleeping Sammy's head in his lap. Not wanting to wake his youngest John helped Dean slide out of the car and then carefully pulled Sammy out far enough to pick him up. Groaning from the added weight he slowly made his way up the porch steps and into the house. He laid Sammy down on the couch and took off his shoes. Grabbing the throw that was hanging on the back of the couch he placed it over his sleeping little boy and tucked it around him. He brushed a stray hair out of Sammy's face before leaning over and kissing his forehead. "Sleep well, kiddo." He whispered. Standing back up he quietly tiptoed into the kitchen. He needed a cup of coffee.

Bobby turned the coffee pot on and went over to the table. Dropping down in the nearest chair he motioned for John to take a seat. He peered around the corner at Dean who was sitting in the recliner watching his brother intently for a moment and then looked back at John. "You know, it's gonna take me a while to get everything together and call my contacts. You and Dean could spend some father, son time together while I get everything ready. Those baseball gloves and balls are still in the hall closet." He suggested.

"What?!" John hollered. Remembering his sleeping son he changed to a whisper. "You want me to waste time playing some stupid children's game!"

"No, I want you to take care of your son, John." Bobby replied in a harsh whisper. "Dean's done nothing but sit and watch Sammy all day. He needs a break, Johnny. He's just a little boy."

"But..." John began.

"No, buts John." Bobby broke in. "I'll watch Sammy while I make phone calls and get the books we need. Take Dean outside and play some catch."

"I take it you're not taking no for an answer." John huffed even as the corner of his lips curled up.

"Nope" Bobby answered. "Not a chance. Now get going before I fill you're a$$ with rock salt."

"I'm going. I'm going." John said throwing his hands up in surrender. Stopping in the doorway he turned and glanced at his friend. "Thanks, Bobby, for everything."

"Oh, get outta here you big girl." Bobby muttered with a grin. He watched as Dean excitedly bounded out the door after his father. _"Now to take care of Sammy."_ He thought as he stood up and headed for the phone.

A few hours later

Bobby looked out the back window smiling as he watched Dean and John playing ball. Turning back to the task at hand he walked over to the shelf and grabbed the two books he thought might help. Remembering another book on the elusive tricksters up in his room he walked back into the living room. He glanced at the still sleeping Sammy before heading up the stairs.

Sammy's eyes slowly opened and glanced around the room. Recognizing his uncle's house he sat up and stretched. "Dean? Daddy?" he croaked rubbing at his sore throat. Seeing no one he frowned. Dean and daddy never left him alone. Hearing the toilet upstairs flush Sammy relaxed. Dean hadn't left him; he was just in the bathroom. Wanting a popsicle for his sore throat he stood up and slowly walked into the kitchen and over to the fridge. He stood staring at the fridge for a moment before remembering that he had opened the car door all by himself. Sammy grasped the door handle and pulled smiling as the refrigerator easily opened for him. He reached for the milk and stopped. Sitting beside the milk was his daddy and Uncle Bobby's favorite drink; beer. He'd never been allowed to taste it before. His daddy always said it was only for really big boys like him and Uncle Bobby. _"I'm a big boy_ _now."_ He thought as he stared at the drink. Curious he picked up the bottle and turned it in his hands. It looked yucky but he knew it had to be good 'cause his daddy drank lots of it. Deciding to try it he held the bottle in both hands and closed his eyes trying to recall how his daddy opened it. Remembering seeing his daddy twist the cap off Sammy opened his eyes and carefully grabbed the bottle cap. It took a couple of tries but he finally managed to pop the cap off spilling a little beer in the process. Putting the bottle up to his mouth he silently counted to three and took a sip just as Bobby walked in the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

A big thank you to everyone who is still reading this story. Thanks for sticking with me.

And a thank you to Liezel, my anonymous reviewer. Thanks for letting me know you're enjoying the story.

Previously on Supernatural- Putting the bottle up to his mouth he silently counted to three and took a sip just as Bobby walked in the room.

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Bobby froze in the doorway eyes widening at the sight of John's youngest standing in the kitchen drinking a beer. He mentally smiled as Sammy immediately began spitting the foul liquid back out spraying the refrigerator and the floor. Stomping over to the youngster he yanked the beer bottle out of Sammy's grip with one hand while applying several hard swats to the little boy's jean clad backside with his other hand. "Sammy Winchester, what in blue blazes do you think you're doing? How many times have we told you not to touch your daddy's beer?" he shouted leading the now crying boy over to one corner of the kitchen. Grabbing a chair Bobby placed it in the corner facing the wall and then turned back to Sammy. "Now sit your behind down in that chair and don't move!" he ordered. He waited until the crying Winchester was seated before trudging over to the sink and pouring the remaining beer down the drain. After throwing the bottle in the trashcan, Bobby walked over to the kitchen table and dropped into a chair. Running a hand through his beard he berated himself for not keeping a closer eye on the kid. Sure Sammy had been sleeping but he still shouldn't have left him alone. He really should know better by now.

Glancing at the clock Bobby noted that Sammy had two more minutes before his time out was over. He walked over to the fridge, opened the door, and pushed all the beer to the very back of the shelf. He didn't want to chance Sammy trying it again. Closing the door he looked over at the wayward Winchester. He couldn't figure out what in the world had possessed Sammy to get a beer in the first place. The kid knew he'd get in trouble. Hell, he and John had both told the boys hundreds of times that beer was only for big… _"Oh, crap!"_ Bobby thought when the light bulb went off. _"It's our fault."_ Feeling like a total idgit he walked over to Sammy and placed a hand on the crying boy's shoulder. "C'mon kiddo. Time out's over." He softly said.

Sammy slowly stood up and made his way out of the corner. Seeing his uncle's open arms he threw himself into the welcome embrace. "I'm s-s-sor-ry, Uncle Bobby!" he cried as he grabbed the back of Bobby's shirt. "I'm s-sorry."

Bobby began rubbing the youngster's back in an attempt to calm the boy down. "No, Sammy. Uncle Bobby's sorry that he yelled at you." He whispered into his nephew's ear. "Shh, come on now. No more tears. It's alright. You're okay." He continued to comfort and sooth the youngest Winchester until Sammy's crying tapered off. Relaxing his hold Bobby smiled down at the tear streaked face on his shoulder. "We good now, Sammy?" he asked. Receiving a nod he patted the boy's back before releasing him from the hug. "Good." He said. "Then how about you go sit at the table so I can get you a popsicle. I know your throat's gotta be hurting after all that crying."

Sammy reluctantly left the comfort of his uncle's embrace and trudged over to the table. He slowly and carefully lowered himself into a chair whimpering as the hard chair made contact with his spanked behind. He watched his uncle take two popsicles out of the freezer and walk over to the table. Taking the offered pop Sammy took a big bite letting the cool sooth his inflamed throat and then meekly asked, "Uncle Bobby, are you mad at me?"

"No Sammy." Bobby firmly stated. "I'm not mad at you kiddo."

Grinning Sammy took another bite of his popsicle before folding the top over and setting it down. Folding his arms on the table in front of him he laid his head on his arms and blinked sleepily at his Uncle Bobby. "I don't feel so good." He said around the thumb now in his mouth.

Cursing inwardly Bobby reached out and placed the back of his hand against Sammy's forehead. Feeling the heat of the returning fever Bobby glanced at the clock and sighed. "Looks like it's past time for some more Tylenol champ." Getting up he went into the living room to get the needed medicine from the coffee table. Tylenol in hand he came back into the kitchen and poured out the desired dosage. He held the cup out and helped Sammy sit up enough to drink it down. Taking the empty cup back Bobby quickly rinsed it out in the sink and walked back over to the sick little boy. "Come on Sammy. Let's get you back to bed." He said giving Sammy a hand up.

Sammy slowly walked into the living room and immediately headed for the old rocking chair by the fireplace. He stood next to the rocker and waited for his uncle to sit down. When that didn't happen, he looked up to see his uncle standing by the couch staring sadly at him. "Rock, please?" he croaked holding up his arms.

Bobby heart went out to the little boy. The poor kid just wanted to be held and comforted but Bobby didn't think he could do that at the moment. He gazed down at the floor and sadly shook his head. "Sorry Sammy" he apologized. "You're too big for me to rock, sport."

Sammy's eyes welled up at his uncle's remark. "You don't like me anymore?" he fearfully asked.

Bobby's head shot up at the unexpected question. "What? Of course I like you kiddo!" he exclaimed. "It's just that I don't think…I mean, right now you're…Dang it!" Unable to stand those mournful puppy dog eyes any longer Bobby marched over to the rocking chair and sat down. He helped Sammy sit on his lap biting back a groan as Sammy settled against him. His back would definitely be letting him know what it thought of this idea tonight. Pushing that thought aside Bobby slowly began to rock as Sammy lay his head down on his uncle's shoulder and closed his eyes. He was asleep in minutes.

Joshua drove down Bobby's Singer's driveway heart beating a mile a minute. He had been on edge ever since he'd heard Bobby's voice on his answering machine telling him that John had gotten mixed up with a trickster and they needed his help. Knowing it had to be bad if Bobby was calling him Joshua had jumped into his car and drove over to the salvage yard at breakneck speed. Parking behind the impala he took a moment to get himself together before climbing out the car and hurrying to the house.

Bobby glanced down smiling at the look on Sammy's face as he slept. Even grown the kid still had the sweet, innocent look of a little kid. He just hoped Sammy could keep that innocence once he found out what was really out there in the dark. Pushing those thoughts aside he glanced back down at his sleeping charge. Knowing that Sammy would rest better on the couch where he could stretch out Bobby placed one hand behind the boy's back and the other under his knees and attempted to lift the youngest Winchester. Straining under the weight Bobby tried several times before finally giving up. The kid was just too heavy to lift from his position. He was stuck until John came back inside. _"I'll never live this one down."_ He thought running a hand through his hair. Hearing the rumble of a car's engine he glanced toward the front door wondering who it could be. He stopped rocking and listened intently as the car cut off and footsteps started toward the porch followed by a bang and cursing. _"That's Joshua"_ Bobby thought smiling. _"Guy always runs into something."_ He sat back to wait for his friend to come in and help him.

Joshua stumbled up the steps cursing Bobby for his mess of a front yard. "Looks like he'd clean up once in a while." He grumbled. Noticing the open front door Josh pulled open the screen and walked inside. "Bobby" he called. "You in h…" The rest of the question died on his lips as his mouth dropped open in shock. Blushing he stared at the sight of his old friend sitting in the rocking chair with a young man on his lap before clamping a hand over his eyes and turning back the way he came. "Oh, ahh, sorry Bobby. Didn't know you had, ahhh, company. I'll just leave you two…"

"Get you're a$$ right back here." Bobby quietly ordered rolling his eyes at his friend's embarrassment.

Joshua hesitantly turned around looking anywhere but at the men in the chair. "Are you sure that'll be okay with your, umm friend?" he asked. "Cause if it's not, I could just leave and come back later after you two are finished."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Josh. That's Sammy you're talking about." Bobby hissed glaring at his friend. "And keep it down I just got the kid to sleep."

"Sammy?" Josh questioned eyeing the sleeping man. His eyes widened as the name clicked. "That's Sammy Winchester?!"

"Yes" Bobby whispered. "I'll explain everything after we get him settled. Now how about putting your eyes back in your head and helping me out."

"Oh, sure. What do you need me to do?" Josh softly asked as he walked up to the rocking chair and ruffled Sammy's hair.

"Pick Sammy up and carry him over to the couch for me." Bobby ordered.

A mischievous smile appeared on Josh's face. "Don't tell me you're stuck, Bobby?" he guessed laughing when his friend turned beet red. "Oh my God, I don't believe it! You are stuck!"

"Shut up and help me" Bobby grumbled.

"Sure thing old man" Josh teased. He carefully scooped Sammy up and carried him over to the couch. After laying the youngest Winchester on the couch Josh gently covered the young man with a blanket and then tiptoed into the kitchen to find Bobby already sitting at the table with two coffee mugs. "Alright, what's going on?" he asked.

A little while later

John and Dean quietly walked in the front door and set the baseball and gloves on the nearby shelf. John walked over to his sleeping son and replaced the blanket that had been kicked to the floor. Noticing the twin red spots on his baby boy's cheeks John placed the back of his hand on Sammy's forehead frowning at the warmth he felt there. Not seeing the Tylenol on the coffee table he walked into the kitchen to get the medicine from Bobby.

Dean threw off his shoes and raced to the bathroom. After doing his business and washing his hands he ran back into the living room and made a bee line for his little brother. Sitting on the side of the couch he stroked Sammy's hair smiling as Sammy turned his head into Dean's touch. Dean's smile slipped though when he noticed the dried tear tracks on his little brother's face. Sammy had been crying and he hadn't been there. Bobby had promised to call them if anything happened to Sammy. Why hadn't he? Dean stood and stormed toward the kitchen to confront Bobby. He needed answers and he needed them now.

AN- Hope this chapter didn't disappoint.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

A big thank you to everyone who is still reading this story. Thanks for sticking with me.

Previously on Supernatural- Dean stood and stormed toward the kitchen to confront Bobby. He needed answers and he needed them now.

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Dean stormed into the kitchen and stomped over to the table stopping beside Bobby. Crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently he glared at his uncle waiting for the hunter to look his way. As soon as Dean had the older man's attention he snapped, "What the hell did you do to my little brother to make him cry?!"

"Jonathan Dean Winchester!" John barked making everyone jump, "Apologize this instant! You know better than to talk to grownups that way!"

"But Dad!" Dean protested turning his puppy eyes on his father, "he…"

"No buts Dean" John broke in, "Apologize to Bobby now. Or do you and I need to go out to the shed and have a private conversation about manners first?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat at his dad's threat Dean shook his head. Shoulders slumped he dropped his head to his chest and meekly answered, "No sir. I'll apologize." Sighing he turned back to his uncle and slowly raised his head to look Bobby in the eye. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Uncle Bobby."

Bobby smiled and put a hand on Dean's shoulder. "It's alright Dean. You have nothing to be sorry for. You were just worried about Sammy."

Dean nodded giving Bobby a slight smile. Mustering up his courage he peeked over at his father and then whispered in his nicest tone of voice, "Uncle Bobby, why was Sammy crying?"

Bobby worriedly glanced at John out of the corner of his eye before answering. "Sammy's okay. He just got into a little trouble when he woke up earlier."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" John questioned frowning.

"Don't worry about it, Johnny. It wasn't that big a deal and I already took care of it." Bobby hedged not wanting to get the littlest Winchester into trouble with his daddy.

"Really?" John skeptically asked crossing his arms. "And just how did you take care of it?"

"I put him in time out." Bobby replied praying that his friend would let the matter drop.

"And…?" John prodded knowing by Bobby's face that there was more.

"I spanked him." Bobby said with a grimace.

"You what?!" Dean hollered. "But he's si…"

"Enough Dean!" John growled running a hand across his face. "Bobby if it was bad enough that you had to spank him, then I need to know what he did."

"Well, Sammy woke up while I was upstairs getting a book and he was thirsty so he went in the kitchen and he, umm, he kinda got a, uhhh, a beer." Bobby mumbled bracing himself for the inevitable explosion.

"HE WHAT?!" John shouted. He couldn't believe it! The image of his baby boy drinking beer had him pushing back from the table and getting out of his chair.

Seeing the anger on their friend's face Bobby and Josh quickly stood and blocked John's way. Bobby put both arms out motioning for John to stop and growled, "Hold it right there. Don't you dare go in there and wake that boy up."

"He's right, John." Josh agreed. "You don't need to go off half cocked. Stay in here and cool off. You can deal with Sammy after he wakes up."

"Yeah, please dad." Dean pleaded grabbing John's hand. "Don't wake him up. He needs to sleep so he can get better."

John glanced down at his eldest son and nodded. He walked back to the table and dropped into a chair. "Alright, I'll wait till he wakes up." He conceded. "But once he's up, he's getting a spanking. Sammy knows better than to touch beer. I don't know why in the hell would he decide to taste it now."

"Maybe because some old fart told him that he could drink it when he was a big boy." Bobby muttered smirking at the chuckle he heard.

John spun around and stared incredulously at his son. "You think this is funny Dean?" he hissed.

"No sir" Dean said putting both hands to his mouth to stifle the laughter that was bubbling up.

"Then what are you laughing at son?" John asked with a frown.

"Uncle Bobby. He, he called you an old, old fart." Dean stammered doubling over.

"I don't know, Dean. Think it kinda fits." Josh interjected. "I mean, he does tend to suddenly explode."

"Yeah, and he's full of hot air." Bobby added with a grin. "Especially if we're telling hunting stories.

"Now wait just a minute." John broke in scowling at the giggling trio. "I'll have you know I don't go around tooting my own horn." He said before joining in the laughter.

"Good one dad" Dean giggled.

Once things settled back down John, Dean, and Josh reclaimed their seats at the table while Bobby made his way to the cabinet. He opened the door and began taking out different items for supper.

Dean watched his uncle take some soup cans out of the cabinet before asking, "Uncle Bobby, since Sammy's sick, can you make…"

"Way ahead of you champ" Bobby interrupted holding up the bag of hash browns he had just taken out of the freezer.

"Cool! Thanks, Uncle Bobby!" Dean exclaimed grinning. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye he turned to find his brother slowly walking into the kitchen rubbing his eyes. "Hey, Sammy. You feeling better?" he asked.

Shaking his head Sammy trudged over to John and sat down in his lap. Laying his head on his daddy's shoulder he stuck his thumb in his mouth. "Daddy, can you read me a story?" he croaked.

"Sure kiddo" John replied ruffling Sammy's hair. "What story do you want daddy to read?"

"I bought a new book last week if you want to read it. It's on the shelf under the phone." Bobby offered. "It's all about different animals in the wild."

"You wanna read that one, Sammy?" Dean asked.

At Sammy's nod John smiled. "Alright sport. Let's go in the living room and read so your Uncle Bobby can get supper ready." He said. He waited for Sammy to get up and then stood and followed his boys into the other room. Grabbing the book he sat down on the couch between his boys and carefully opened the animal book. Pointing to the picture he asked, "What's that animal Sammy?"

"Lion, Roooarrr!" Sammy answered swiping his "claw" at his dad and brother.

"That's right, Sammy." Dean praised. "What about that one?"

"Gorilla" Sammy said beating his chest with both hands.

"Right again kiddo" John exclaimed watching as Sammy's face lit up at the praise. "How about this one?"

Sammy looked at the picture intently for a moment before proudly announcing "A frickin' elephant!"

"A what?" John questioned ignoring Josh's chuckling.

"It's a frickin' elephant, daddy!" Sammy repeated.

"Dean" John growled. "Wanna tell me where your brother heard that word?"

"I don't know dad." Dean innocently replied. "He didn't get it from me, did you Sammy?"

"Nope, Dean didn't tell me daddy. I readed it. See, right there." Sammy answered pointing to the elephant page.

John looked down at the page and groaned. Under the picture were the words "African elephant" in bold letters. Not wanting to upset his youngest he said, "Well how about that. That's exactly what it says." Before quickly turning the page.

A couple of hours later

Dean shoved another mouthful of casserole in his mouth. Glancing over at his little brother he watched as Sammy's eyes slid closed and his head began to slowly drop towards his chest only to jerk back up and begin the process all over again. Dean nudged his dad with his elbow and whispered, "Dad, I think you need to put Sammy to bed before he falls face first in his food."

John took one look at his youngest and chuckled. He walked over, gently picked his baby boy up, and carried him into the living room. He sat his son on the couch, came back into the kitchen and grabbed Sammy's medicine out of the refrigerator and then walked back out. He somehow managed to get the zonked out boy to take the medicine. Afterwards John helped his son lay back down and covered him with a blanket. He tucked the blanket around his sleeping son, kissed him on the forehead, and tiptoed back into the kitchen.

Dean went to get his bath while the men cleared the table and got out the cards. They were on their fourth game of poker by the time the little boy appeared in his pajamas. Taking a seat next to his dad he eagerly joined in the game watching and memorizing every move the men made. He was in the middle of his first winning hand when a small whimper from the other room caught his attention. Jumping out of the chair he hurried to the living room with his dad and uncles right behind him. They were half way to the couch when Sammy suddenly sat straight up and screamed, "Nooooooooo!"

AN- Sorry, it's so short. My muse has evidently gone on vacation without me. If you happen to see her, please hogtie her and send her back my way.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

To Sam_Crazed, 019gmai, and my anonymous reviewer, thanks for the reviewers. Glad you're enjoying the story.

And to the nice person who voted for Sammy and the Clowns in the People's Choice Awards 2008, thank you so much. :)

Previously on Supernatural- They were half way to the couch when Sammy suddenly sat straight up and screamed, "Nooooooooo!"

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John raced over to the couch and dropped down behind his terrified son. He had to grab the back of the couch to keep from tumbling off the edge when Sammy turned and threw himself at his father. Wrapping his arms around his youngest John began to softly murmur, "Shh, Sammy. It's alright. It was just a dream. You're okay" over and over.

Sammy's trembling hands clutched his daddy's shirt as he cried, "Bad man hurt P.J. and the little girl! Bad man hurt P.J. and the little girl!"

"Nothing happened to Pastor Jim and the little girl, Sammy. It was just a bad dream." Dean assured his little brother.

"NO!" Sammy hollered vigorously shaking his head. He paled as the pounding in his head doubled from the motion making his already queasy stomach flip. Suddenly sick to his stomach Sammy clamped both hands over his mouth and struggled to get out from under the blanket and off the couch before it was too late.

Sensing what was about to happen Dean dashed over to the door, snatched up the trash can, and ran back to his little brother making it just as Sammy lost the battle with his stomach. He rubbed Sammy's back and whispered reassurances as his brother threw up everything he had eaten that day. He continued to comfort Sammy through the dry heaves that followed barely noticing when the trash can was gently removed from his hand.

John waited until he was sure his son was through before carefully sitting Sammy up and laying him back against his chest. He stroked his baby boy's long hair frowning at the heat he could feel there. He placed the back of his hand on Sammy's forehead and then glanced down at his watch. _"Definitely time for some more Tylenol."_ He thought as he brushed the bangs out of Sammy's eyes. "Sammy, how about we get you into bed now?" he asked. "Think you can make it if daddy helps you?"

Sammy peered up at John with wide eyes tears freely flowing down his cheeks. "No, daddy help P.J. The bad man is gonna hurt him and Ava." He whispered. "Please?"

"Who's Ava, Sammy?" Bobby asked handing John a glass of water and a wet wash cloth.

"The little girl, Mrs. Ruth's granddaughter" Sammy replied taking a tiny sip of water from the offered glass only to throw it back up seconds later.

"Okay, Sammy, time for bed." John ordered. "We can talk about this tomorrow." He carefully stood and began to pull his son up.

"No, daddy!" Sammy protested as he weakly struggled against his father. "Bad man's going to hurt P.J.!"

"You go ahead and go with your daddy, Sammy. I'll call Jim and tell him about your dream." Josh said. "Okay? Don't worry. We won't let the bad man get him."

Sammy gave Josh a small smile as his father slowly pulled him to his feet. Knowing Pastor Jim and the little girl would be safe now he relaxed and allowed his father and Uncle Bobby to lead him down the hall.

Having seen the wet spot on the front of Sammy's pants John steered the group away from the stairs and down the hall going into the bathroom near Bobby's bedroom. He helped Sammy sit on the floor in front of the toilet just in case his stomach rebelled again. Once he was sure his son wouldn't fall he turned, placed the stopper in the tub, and started the water. He then began to take Sammy's clothes off spouting orders to the others as he worked. "Dean, go upstairs and fetch your brother's sleep pants and a clean shirt and boxers." He ordered.

"Yes sir" Dean replied running out of the room.

"Need any help John?" Bobby asked from the doorway.

"No thanks. I've got this." John answered turning off the water. He threw the soiled clothes into the nearby hamper before helping his little boy stand and step into the tub. Grabbing a wash cloth he folded it and placed it behind Sammy's head and then picked up another one, wet it, and began to wash his baby boy. "Bobby, you wouldn't happen to have some kind of fever medicine that I can give Sammy would you? Something that's not taken orally. I don't think he can keep anything down right now."

"Let me see what I've got." Bobby said walking out of the bathroom. "Oh, and John put him in my bed when you're finished here. I'll sleep in the extra room tonight."

"Thanks Bobby" John called over his shoulder as he continued to bathe Sammy. He finished just as Dean raced back into the room clean clothes in hand. After helping Sammy out of the tub and over to the toilet, John quickly dried him off and dressed him. He then threw Sammy's right arm around his shoulder and slowly stood him up with Dean taking up position on Sammy's left. Between the two they managed to get Sammy across the hall and into Bobby's bed.

"Head hurts, daddy" Sammy cried curling into his dad's side.

"I know baby, I know" John whispered, "Uncle Bobby's getting you something to make you feel better. Just hang on a little longer, kiddo."

Bobby walked into the room and hurried over to the bed. "Here try this" he said handing John a small rectangular box.

John looked down at the box in his hands in surprise. "You've got to be kidding, Bobby." he hissed. "Suppositories?"

"Sorry Johnny, but that's all I have. Travis and Bill used the last of the S-H-O-TS after that last hunt of theirs." Bobby explained with a shrug.

John ran a weary hand across his face. "Okay, guess I'll have to use these." He sighed. "Dean, why don't you go help Bobby clear off the table while I do this?"

"No way dad. I'm staying right here with Sammy." Dean declared. "Sides, you're gonna need me to distract him and keep him calm. Remember what happened when that nurse had to give him one a couple of years ago?"

Boy did he. That had been one of the worse doctor visits ever. "Alright, Dean you can stay." John conceded as he turned Sammy onto his side. Hearing the door shut he looked up to see Bobby gone. "Chicken" he muttered as he opened the box and pulled out the needed medicine.

In the kitchen

Josh waited for Bobby to get a mug of coffee and take a seat before speaking. "Bobby, you're not gonna believe what Jim told me." He began. Seeing his friend nod he continued. "Jim said that Mrs. Ruth does have a granddaughter named Ava. She and her mother arrived from Illinois yesterday to stay with Mrs. Ruth after an argument with her husband. And get this, Mrs. Ruth just started coming to Jim's church a couple of weeks ago. There's no way Sammy could know about her let alone her granddaughter."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

To 019gmai, and noo noo, thanks for reading and reviewing.

Previously on Supernatural- "There's no way Sammy could know about her let alone her granddaughter."

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"Shit!" Bobby exclaimed slamming the coffee mug onto the table and hissing as the coffee splashed out of the mug and onto his hand. He quickly wiped his hand on his pants leg as he mulled over the information he'd just learned. Reaching up he pulled his old trucker's cap off his head and began to nervously tap it against his knee. "So, you're saying that Sammy had a premonition?"

"That's what Jim thinks it was." Joshua explained taking another sip of his coffee. "And before you ask he said that it probably happened now because of this mess with the trickster. Most psychics' powers are dormant until they're in their late teens to early twenties. They might get flashes every now and again but nothing major until they're grown."

"And now that Sammy's body is grown his powers are surfacing." Bobby finished with a scowl. "Johnny's gonna love this. Just hope he doesn't decide to shoot the messengers."

Joshua paled at the thought of his friend's reaction. He hadn't forgotten John's rage at the "clown incident" last year. Josh really didn't think he could handle a repeat of that confrontation. Feeling a sudden urge to make a fast getaway he glanced down at his watch and said, "Well, will you just look at the time! I didn't realize it was so late. I guess I should head back to the house now. Night Bobby." He swiftly stood up and took a step towards the door only to be frozen by the glare Bobby sent his way.

"Set your ass back down in that chair, Josh." Bobby ordered. "We've still got a lot of researching to do on that trickster." He waited until his friend sat down to add, "And don't worry about John. You know how he gets when one of his boys is sick. He's always parked right by their side. We won't be seeing him again until the morning."

Joshua breathed a sigh of relief. "Hope you're right about that, Bobby." he muttered picking up one of the thick, dusty books and opening it.

"Right about what?" a voice from the doorway questioned.

Both men cringed inwardly as they looked up into the tired face of John Winchester. They watched as he walked over to the counter, poured himself a mug of coffee, before joining them at the table. Finally finding his voice Bobby cleared his throat and asked, "Johnny, what are you doing down here? Sammy asleep already?"

"No" John replied running a weary hand across his face. "But I'm not exactly his favorite person right now. Which reminds me, get these outta my sight." John threw the small box of medicine to Bobby who easily caught it.

"Sure thing, John" Bobby said with a smirk. "I take it Sammy's likes those about as much as he likes getting shots."

"Think those are higher up than shots on the list of things Sammy's hates. That was worse than when Dr. McCoy gave him that shot this morning." John informed his friends.

"Sorry man. I'll try to get some more shots from the good doc in the morning." Bobby offered.

"Thanks, Bobby" John said before turning to Joshua. "So what did Pastor Jim have to say? He told you it was just a dream, right?"

"Well, he ummm" Josh stammered. "He said that he was glad we called and that he would talk to some contacts about the trickster and see what he could find out. And then he said, uhh, well that, uhh…"

"He said that there is an older lady in his congregation named Mrs. Ruth and she does have a granddaughter visiting right now named Ava. Said thanks for the heads up and that he'd keep his eyes open." Bobby broke in bracing himself for the explosion that was sure to come from his next statement. "Jim thinks Sammy had a premonition, Johnny. He said…" he trailed off at John's angry glare.

"WHAT?!" John shouted leaping out of his chair and starting to pace. "Sammy's not having premonitions! He's not! He's sick and he had a bad dream about people he knew, that's all My son is not some kind of psychic freak!"

"John, I'm sorry but Jim told me that Mrs. Ruth only joined his congregation two weeks ago. There's no way Sammy could know about her much less her granddaughter." Josh explained.

"No, that's not right. He can't be..." John ranted shaking his head. He stomped over to the refrigerator and threw it opened. Snatching out a beer he popped the top and took a long swig before turning back to his friends at the table. Snapping his fingers he grinned. "Wait a minute! Dean and Sammy called Jim last week. Sammy was all excited because Dean had taught him to say the Lord's Prayer in Latin and he couldn't wait to say it for Jim." John told the others as he continued to pace the room. "Jim must have told him about Mrs. Ruth and her granddaughter then."

"Why would Jim tell him about someone in his congregation?" Bobby asked with a frown.

"I don't know." John replied leaning against the counter. "Josh, did Jim happen to mention how old the little girl is?"

"Yeah, he said she was four just like Sammy." Josh said looking at the hunter with a confused expression. "Why?"

"That's it! Jim would have told Sammy about Mrs. Ruth and Ava because the little girl is Sammy's age." John concluded with a smile. "Sammy's always asking Jim about his little friends at the church.

"Makes sense" Bobby agreed. "A lot more sense than Sammy having premonitions. Guess Jim just forgot he'd talked to Sammy about them."

"Yeah" Josh added as he stood up and stretched. "Think I'm gonna head home for the night. You two get some sleep and we'll go at this thing again in the morning."

"We can't…" John protested.

"He's right, Johnny" Bobby interrupted. "It's been a long day and we'll all beat. The books will still be here in the morning and who knows; maybe one of Jim's contacts will have a lead."

"Guess you're right." John conceded following the others into the living room. After saying goodbye to Josh John quietly walked down the hall with Bobby and carefully pushed the bedroom door open. He smiled at the sight of his sleeping boys. Sammy had his thumb in his mouth and was lying on his side with one arm curled around Dean's waist.

"Geez, Dean looks like some kind of weird Cabbage Patch doll." Bobby whispered as he grabbed a few things from the room.

John chuckled as he placed the rocking chair beside the bed. "Don't let him hear you say that." He warned. He plopped down in the chair and reached over to brush Sammy's hair out of his face. Placing the back of his hand on his son's forehead he was relieved to find that Sammy's temperature had come down.

"How's his fever?" Bobby whispered.

"Better" John replied leaning back in the rocker and closing his eyes.

"Good. Night John" Bobby softly said before tiptoeing out of the room.

The next morning

John woke to the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. Instantly alert he sat still listening as the steps grew closer and closer to their door. Recognizing Bobby's stomp he relaxed and turned back to his sleeping boys. After checking Sammy's temperature once again, John decided to let the boys sleep for a little longer. He stood and stretched attempting to alleviate the soreness and pain from sleeping in the rocking chair all night. Once that task was accomplished he tiptoed over to the door and slowly opened it. He glanced back at the boys before stepping out and closing the door behind him. John quickly climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to the guest room. He grabbed some clothes out of his duffle and walked across the hall and into the bathroom. A shower and shave later and John was ready to get back to work tracking down the trickster. He took the boys' duffles downstairs and set them by their bed and then hurried into the kitchen where the smell of bacon and eggs greeted him. "Morning Bobby!" he called opening the cabinet and taking out four plates.

"Morning John" Bobby replied cracking another egg over the skillet. "Breakfast is almost ready."

"Great! I'm starving!" John said as he swiftly set the table. He snatched the newspaper off the counter and sat down at the table to read it hoping there would be a clue about the trickster's whereabouts buried in the various articles. He skimmed the pages until Bobby set plates of bacon, eggs, and hash browns in the middle of the table. Folding the paper John set it aside and piled food on his plate. He and Bobby discussed the day of research ahead as they ate. They decided that they would swap off researching with playing with the boys. That way the ones researching could keep their mind on what they were doing instead of worrying about what the boys might be up to.

John and Bobby had just finished eating breakfast when Dean came into the kitchen followed by Sammy. "Morning boys" Bobby called from his spot at the sink. "Breakfast is on the table."

"Morning" the boys replied as they walked to the table and took a seat. Dean licked his lips as he happily began filling his plate with all the delicious looking food. Once his plate was overflowing he grabbed his fork and dug into the hash browns.

"How are you feeling this morning, Sammy?" John questioned glancing at his little boy over the top of the paper.

"Okay" Sammy answered around a yawn. He looked over all the different breakfast foods before turning to stare at his uncle. "Uncle Bobby, can I have some casserole for breakfast? Please?" he asked.

"Sure kiddo" Bobby said wiping his hands on a nearby towel. He went over to the fridge and took out the casserole placing it on the counter. After scooping a generous portion onto a plate, he put the casserole away and placed the plate of food in the microwave. He waited for it to warm and then carried it over to the youngest Winchester. "Careful now, it's hot." He warned as he set the plate on the table.

"Okay" Sammy replied as he scooped a small bit onto his spoon. Lifting the spoon to his mouth he blew on it for a few seconds and then popped it in his mouth. Smiling at the wonderful taste Sammy returned his spoon to the casserole digging out a huge helping.

John watched as Sammy stuffed another spoonful of casserole into his mouth. Spotting the tattoo on his son's hand he frowned. He reached over and gently took hold of Sammy's hand examining it just to make sure he'd seen correctly. "Bobby, come take a look at this." He asked holding Sammy's hand up for his friend to see.

"What? That's just the tattoo we saw yester…" Bobby trailed off as he caught sight of something. "Wait a minute! Wasn't the hand pointing to the five?"

"Yeah, why?" Dean answered leaving his plate to see what had his father worried.

"It's on the four now." John pointed out.

"The damn thing's a countdown!" Bobby growled. "It's counting down the days until…"

"Until what?" Dean hesitantly asked.

"I don't know" John admitted letting go of Sammy's hand. "But I'm gonna find out before the time's up. Promise."

Dean calmed at his father's promise. If his dad said he'd fix things, that's exactly what would happen. Relieved that his dad had things under control Dean went back to his chair and dug into his breakfast glancing up every once in a while to check on his little brother. He grinned as Sammy managed to eat almost all the food on his plate. Once he was sure Sammy was finished eating he stood and carried both plates to the sink before going to the fridge to retrieve Sammy's medicine. "Okay, Sammy time for your medicine." He said as he walked up beside his brother.

"No!" Sammy shouted throwing his hands behind him to cover his jean clad behind. "No medicine!"

"No, Sammy, not the kind dad gave you last night." Dean assured his brother. "The kind you take with a spoon. See?" He held the bottle of Tylenol and the spoon up.

Sammy glanced from the Tylenol to Dean and back before nodding. "Okay, Dean." He said. He obediently opened his mouth and swallowed the medicine. Seeing his big brother fill the measuring spoon with the yucky tasting medicine Sammy firmly clamped his mouth shut.

"Here you go Sammy." Dean cheerfully said as he held the spoon up to his brother. Seeing his brother shake his head Dean frowned. "Come on Sammy, open up. I know it doesn't taste good but you have to take it or you won't get better. Then we'll have to take you back to the doctor and you don't want that, do you?"

Not wanting a repeat of last night's tantrum John quickly intervened. "Hey Dean" he casually called, "the paper says there's a fair in town. There's food, rides, and even a petting zoo."

Figuring out what his dad was up to Dean played along. Hiding his grin he sadly said, "Ahhh man! I wish we could go!"

"Me too, buddy. But your brother's too sick to go out and today's the last day for the fair." John pointed out struggling to keep a frown on his face as Sammy turned his puppy dog look on him.

Dean glanced sadly at Sammy. "Sorry Sammy" he whispered. He looked down at the medicine filled spoon and snapped his fingers. "Hey, dad, if Sammy takes his medicine and stays in bed, could we go then? Just for a little while?"

"I don't know Dean." John replied as he pretended to think about Dean's suggestion. "I guess if he took all his medicine this morning and after lunch like he's supposed to, then he might be well enough to go for a little bit."

"Can we, daddy? Please?" Sammy excitedly asked. He snatched the spoon out of Dean's hand and quickly swallowed the horrible tasting liquid. "I took my medicine." He announced. "See daddy?" He put the spoon right in front of John's nose to show him the medicine was gone. "Can we go? Can we? Can we?"

John took the spoon and handed it to Dean. "Alright Sammy. You win. If you take all your medicine and stay in bed and rest, then we'll go to the fair this afternoon." He agreed grabbing the table to keep from falling as his over excited little boy launched himself at his daddy and hugged him. Patting Sammy's back John said, "Go wash your face and hands and get back in bed, kiddo. I'll be up there to tuck you in in just a minute."

"Okay daddy" Sammy replied. He let go of his daddy and followed his big brother out of the room.

Bobby picked up Sammy's medicine and put it back in the refrigerator and poured himself another cup of coffee. Sitting down at the table he asked, "John, do you think it's really a good idea to take the boys to the fair?"

"Sure it is. We won't stay very long; just long enough for the boys to use up some of that excess energy they seem to have so much of." John told his friend. "Besides, it's just a fair. What could possible happen?"


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural- "Besides, it's just a fair. What could possible happen?"

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"More please" Sammy asked holding out his empty plate.

"Sure thing, kiddo. Just give me a minute to warm some more up." Bobby replied taking the offered plate. He scooped another generous portion of casserole onto the plate and set it in the microwave. He stood leaning against the counter and sipped his coffee while he waited for the ding signaling the casserole was heated and ready. Once the microwave finished its job Bobby carefully took the hot plate and set it in front of the youngest Winchester. "Here you go, Sammy." He said ruffling the boy's hair.

"Thanks Uncle Bobby!" Sammy exclaimed as he quickly scooped a small bit of casserole onto his spoon. He blew on the hot food for a few minutes before popping the spoon into his mouth. "Can we have this for supper, too?" he questioned as he dipped his spoon into the casserole again.

Bobby walked over to the sink and set the now empty casserole dish into the sink. He stuck the stopper in the sink, turned on the hot water, and grabbed the dish washing liquid off the counter. "Well Sammy, I was thinking we'd fire up the grill tonight and cook some of those barbeque ribs you boys like so much. I've even got some of Mr. Garrett's barbeque." Bobby told the little boy. "But I guess we can have casserole too."

"Hot dog! Ribs!" Dean whooped from his seat. "This is the best day ever! We're having ribs for supper and we're going to the fair with dad!"

Sammy's eyes lit up at the mention of the fair. Eager to finish eating he quickly shoveled a heaping spoonful of casserole into his mouth.

"Slow down Sammy." John scolded. He walked over to the counter and poured himself another cup of coffee before returning to his chair. "We need to talk about the fair boys." He announced.

Sammy froze with his spoon half way to his mouth. "We're going, aren't we daddy?" he quietly asked.

"We're still going Sammy" John assured him. "But there are a few ground rules we have to go over first. You boys have to stay with me at all times. No running off, no matter what you see. Sammy, you hold Dean's hand while we're walking and…"

"Aww man! Everybody'll think I'm holding his hand 'cause he's my dad!" Dean exclaimed rolling his eyes as Sammy began giggling. "Can't he just promise to stay right beside me? I'll keep an eye on him. Please, dad?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, champ." John replied with a frown. "Tell you what. Let's see how many people are there and then I'll decide whether or not he has to hold your hand."

"Okay" Dean glumly agreed. He set his plate in the sink and then went over to the fridge to retrieve Sammy's medicine.

John waited until he had Dean's attention once more before continuing. "There's one more thing we need to talk about. Sammy, you're a big boy now so you won't be able to ride the kiddie rides this time." He said.

"No horsey?" Sammy asked as his bottom lip began to tremble.

"Sorry son. You're just too big." John stated.

"It's okay Sammy." Dean comforted rubbing his brother's back. "You're big like dad so you get to ride the big boy rides with us."

"Really?" Sammy asked glancing at his daddy for confirmation. "Even the big wheel?"

"Yes, Sammy" John agreed. "The three of us are going to ride all the big boy rides even the Ferris wheel."

"Yea!" Sammy squealed clapping his hands. "Can we go now daddy? I'm finished eating."

John smiled at his excited little boy. "We'll go in a few minutes, Sammy. You have to take your medicine first. Then you and Dean need to go wash your face and hands and put your shoes on."

"Yes sir" Sammy replied. He obediently took his medicine, sticking out his tongue at the foul taste. "C'mon Dean! Let's go!" he hollered as he jumped out of his chair and ran toward the bathroom.

John shook his head as both boys raced out of the room. Grabbing Sammy's plate and the measuring spoon he walked over and placed them in the sink. Leaning on the counter he asked, "You going with us, Bobby?"

"Naw, Josh is coming over and we're going to go back over the research." Bobby explained. "Besides, with the way Sammy's eating I need to make a trip to the grocery store. And all this time I thought Dean was gonna be the biggest eater of the two."

"Yeah, I think I better start putting some money aside now if the boys are gonna eat that much when they're teenagers." John joked. Hearing the muffled thudding of socked feet running down the hall, he headed for the living room. "See you later, Bobby" he called over his shoulder.

"Be careful Johnny" Bobby hollered. Snatching a notepad out of a drawer he began to make a grocery list starting with the ingredients of the famous casserole.

At the fair

Sammy gazed in awe at all the brightly decorated tents and booths set up around the fair grounds. Walking between his father and brother he glanced from one side to the other oooing and ahhing at all the food and games and prizes.

Dean watched his little brother carefully smiling at the mega watt grin that had been on Sammy's face since they'd stepped into the fair. Spotting their destination ahead he tugged on Sam's shirt and shouted, "Sammy, look!"

Sammy looked in the direction his brother was pointing and clapped his hands. "Yea! The petting zoo!" he hollered as he started to walk faster. He followed Dean into the small enclosure and watched carefully as his big brother petted one of the sheep. Curious he leaned over, stuck his hand into the sheep pen, and touched one of the sheep. He had just started stroking the rough wool when a sound caught his attention. Glancing in the direction of the noise he smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Look, Dean! A horsey!" he cried pointing to a pen on the other side of the enclosure.

Both boys raced over to the fence and stared at the two calico colored ponies that were happily nibbling on a bale of hay. Dean reached out and rubbed the nearest pony's head. "Pet him like this Sammy." Dean instructed. He withdrew his hand and watched as his little brother timidly reached into the pen only to snatch his hand back when the pony threw his head up and whinnied. "It's okay, Sammy. He's just saying hello. Come on try again."

"No, don't like horsey." Sammy muttered looking around for a safer animal. Seeing a small rectangular box on the ground a few feet away he asked, "What's in that, Dean?" Not waiting for his brother he ran over to the box and peered inside. "Bunnies!" he exclaimed. Dropping down beside the rabbit hutch he stared at all the bunnies for a minute before reaching inside the box and gently stroking a small brown rabbit. He gave Dean a dimpled grin as the bunny sniffed his hand. They stayed at the rabbit hutch playing with the bunnies until their dad signaled that it was time to move on.

At an undisclosed location

The trickster rolled his eyes and yawned as the Winchesters went from the petting zoo to the Ferris wheel. He sat up thinking things were about to get interesting only to be disappointed as the ride went off without a hitch. Huffing out his displeasure he stomped over to his closet and threw it open. Things were beginning to go too smoothly for the Winchesters. He was gonna have to do something about that.

At the fair

"That was cool!" Sammy shouted climbing out of the Ferris wheel bucket. "Can we ride it again?"

"Not right now, kiddo" a very pale John replied. "I think we need to find something a little calmer right now."

"Okay" Sammy said. He happily walked with his family taking in all the sights as they went. Seeing a colorful sign in front of a covered tent he stopped and shouted, "Dean! I see pie!"

"Where?" Dean asked already licking his lips. He followed his brother's gaze to a sign announcing a pie eating contest. "Dad, can we check it out? Please?" he pleaded.

John looked from the booth to Dean. Running a hand through his hair he said, "Alright, we'll check it out. But be warned. You get sick from eating too much pie and you'll be getting the same medicine Sammy did last night."

"Too much pie? There's no such thing, dad." Dean responded patting his stomach. He went over to the tent and quickly signed up for the children's contest putting down his age as nine so he could compete. Hearing a gasp from his little brother he turned to see Sammy staring at something across from the tent. "What's up, Sammy?" he asked.

Sammy raised a hand and pointed to a small shooting gallery. "Look at that bunny, Dean! Isn't it cool!" he whispered in awe.

Dean stared over at the booth and groaned. Hanging from one of the poles was a giant bright blue stuffed rabbit. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his little brother's taste, or lack thereof, he muttered, "Yeah, that's a nice bunny, Sammy."

"Can you win it for me, Dean?" Sammy asked gaze still locked on the stuffed toy. "You can use the dollar Uncle Bobby gave me."

"Hang on, kiddo" Dean instructed. He turned and tugged on their dad's arm to get his attention. "Dad, Sammy and I are gonna go right over there to that shooting booth, okay?"

John glanced over to the booth and frowned. "Dean, you know games like that are rigged. That guy will just take your money."

"I know, but Sammy wants me to win that rabbit for him. I gotta try dad." Dean explained.

"Alright Dean" John conceded. "But only play one game."

"Yes, sir" Dean agreed. Smiling he spun around and took Sammy by the hand. "Let's go win that bunny." He walked over to the booth with Sammy and stood watching the man behind the counter setting out some more prizes. After a couple of minutes of being ignored, he cleared his throat to gain the man's attention. He waited for the man to look his way and asked, "Excuse me sir. What do you have to do to win that stuffed bunny?"

Greg, the young man behind the counter, smiled down at the boy already counting the money he'd be able to collect from the kid. "If you're going for the big prize it's two quarters. You'll have 8 shots. Hit the targets all eight times and you win." Turning to Sammy he asked, "You his dad?"

"No silly Dean's my brother" Sammy proudly stated. "He's gonna win that bunny for me."

Gregg's smug smile faded a little as memories of his own big brother flashed through his mind. "He is, huh?" he asked. "Well, then I better get him a gun." He ducked under the counter coming back with a new gun. "Here you go, kid." He said winking at Dean. "Let's see if you can't win that bunny for your brother."

Smiling Dean handed his fifty cents to the man and took the rifle. He set his feet like his dad had shown him and lifted the gun. Peering through the site he lined up the first target and fired knocking the target over. He grinned up at his little brother and then lined up his next shot. He slowly pulled the trigger and the next target fell. One by one the targets fell until only one was left standing. Dean took a deep breath, lifted the rifle, sighted the target, and pulled the trigger.

In the fair parking lot

Billy Evans and his gang strutted toward the fair entrance pushing people out of their way as they went. The fair was ripe for the picking and the boys intended to get their share. Passing the entrance they snuck around to the back side of the fair. Stopping at the fence they glanced around before scaling the fence. They dropped down on the other side, carefully walked around the tent in front of them, and blended into the crowd.

At the shooting booth

"Great job, Dean!" John praised coming up behind Dean and patting his son on the back.

"Thanks, dad!" Dean exclaimed beaming at his dad's praise. He exchanged the rifle for the bunny and handed the bunny to Sammy chuckling as his little brother hugged the stuffed animal to his chest.

"Ready to eat your weight in pie, Dean?" John asked guiding his boys away from the booth. "The contest starts in five minutes."

"I'm always ready for some pie" Dean stated rubbing his hands together. "Those other kids don't stand a chance." He followed his dad into the tent and walked over to the table where some other children were already getting ready. He slipped the plastic covering over his shirt and sat down at the table eagerly anticipating the fun to come.

As soon as all the children were seated the judge stepped up and announced the rules of the contest. Once he finished his speech the judge walked over to the side. "Hands behind your backs, kids. "Good. Now remember, you only have a minute to eat as many of the mini pies as you can so make every second count." He instructed. "On your mark, get set, GO!" he shouted.

John and Sammy cheered Dean on as he quickly ate his way through pie after pie. A minute later the buzzer sounded and all the children stopped eating and looked up faces covered in various pie fillings. The judge then went from child to child counting the number of empty pie tins of front of them. When he finished his assigned task, he turned to the crowd and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, our winner has broken the record for most mini pies eaten in a minute. The old record for most mini pies eaten was set by Seth Collins ten years ago. Seth's record was four. Today our winner smashed that record by eating six; count them, six mini pies! And that winner is…Dean Winchester! Give the kid a hand!" Walking over to Dean he took hold of one of Dean's hands and raised his arm in the air.

Outside the tent

The trickster, clad in a biker outfit, watched the gang of boys storm through the fair. He chuckled at how easy it was to steer the boys in the Winchesters' direction. Those punks definitely didn't have much upstairs. Smirking evilly he and his puppet biker walked toward the young punks laughing inwardly as the boys moved over to give them room to pass. Playing his part to perfection he scowled at his "friend" and grumbled, "Did you see that big old retard with the blue stuffed animal. Kids like that shouldn't even be allowed in public. Outta be locked up somewhere." The trickster punctuated his statement by ramming into the leader of the gang with his shoulder knocking the boy back. Not looking back he continued to walk away disappearing behind a booth. Sneaking a peek around the corner the trickster giggled as the punks headed straight for the pie tent and the Winchesters.

Back at the tent

Dean wiped the pie off his face before gently picking up his trophy and running over to his family. He excitedly handed the trophy to his father. "Dad, guess what? I get the trophy and a pie for winning the contest!" He said. "I can pick any pie I want from the booth next to this one. And they said that I don't have to get it right now. I can pick it up later when we're ready to go."

"That's great, Dean!" John praised. "We can have some for desert tonight."

"Awesome!" Dean exclaimed.

John smiled and handed the trophy back to Dean. Checking his watch he said, "Alright boys we've got time for a couple more rides before we have to go. So, where do you want to go next?"

Dean glanced around at all the rides and booths and then looked up at his brother. Knowing that Sammy had patiently sat and cheered him on Dean thought for a moment and then said, "Let's go to the big slide, dad. We haven't done that yet."

"Yea! The slide!" Sammy shouted jumping up and down. He followed his dad and brother out of the tent and past the shooting booth. He held his bunny tightly in his hands as they walked toward the other side of the fair where the slide was. Tripping he glanced down and noticed that one of his shoes was untied. "Wait a minute, Dean." He said as he bent down and carefully tied his shoe the way Dean had taught him. Once he had his shoe tied tight he stood back up and gasped. Dean and his daddy were nowhere in sight. Sammy turned around in a circle looking for any sign of his family. Seeing nothing he clutched his bunny and tried to remember what Dean had told him to do if he ever got lost. He was so busy that he didn't hear the gang of boys come up behind him.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

WARNING- This is not a happy chapter y'all. There are some derogatory terms used in this chapter to refer to Sammy. After all Billy and his gang are thugs. t

Previously on Supernatural- Seeing nothing he clutched his bunny and tried to remember what Dean had told him to do if he ever got lost. He was so busy that he didn't hear the gang of boys come up behind him.

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Billy placed a finger to his mouth signaling for quiet and walked right up behind Sammy. "Hey kid, what's a matter?" he shouted biting down on his tongue to keep from laughing as the surprised boy jumped in fright.

Sammy spun around and looked down at the man who had hollered at him. The muscular young man had short jet black hair and was dressed in a dirty white tee shirt, faded jeans, and cowboy boots. Hoping the man could help him find his daddy and Dean Sammy opened his mouth to ask only to quickly shut it again remembering that he wasn't allowed to talk to strangers. He waved at the man, turned to continue his search, and bumped into two other men. "Sorry" he blurted out taking a step backwards.

Billy walked around the youngest Winchester and stood beside his two friends as the other members of the gang held their positions around them. "That's okay, kid. No harm done." He assured in a sickeningly sweet voice. He paused for a moment to see if Sammy would speak and then continued. "Still not talking, huh? That's cool. You should never talk to strangers. I'm Billy and these are my friends Danny, Bruce, Kenny, and Fred. There now we're not strangers anymore. So how about you tell us your name kid. Then you can be our friend."

Sammy carefully studied the man's face before giving him a small smile. "I'm Sammy" he said holding out his hand.

Billy smirked as he shook Sam's hand. Giving his gang a thumbs up behind his back he hooked an arm around Sammy's shoulder and pulled him close. "So, friend what's wrong? Did you get lost or something?" he questioned.

"Uh huh" Sammy replied ducking out from under the man's arm. "Me and daddy and Dean were going to the big slide and I tripped on my shoelace and I stopped to tie my shoe. When I got back up daddy and Dean were gone and I can't 'member what Dean said to do if I got lost. Do you know where they are?"

"Sure kid" Billy cockily answered. "In fact me and the guys know a shortcut to the big slide. Just stick with us Sammy. We'll get you to your family in no time."

"Thanks Billy!" Sammy exclaimed. He happily began to follow the young man and his friends as they walked.

Billy grinned mischievously as he led the way across the dirt path and between the tents. It had been easier than he thought to get his hands on the brat. And once they got safely behind the tents him and the boys were gonna have a little fun with the retard.

At the big slide

"Look Sammy! There it is!" Dean shouted pointing to the enormous yellow slide. Not hearing the expected whoop of excitement from his little brother Dean turned to his left and gasped. He slowly spun around in a circle hunting for any trace of Sammy eyes widening with fear when his brother was nowhere in sight. Running up to his father he grabbed him by the hand. "Dad!" he yelled. "Sammy's gone!"

All the color left John's face as Dean's words sunk in. Quickly scanning the surrounding area and seeing no sign of his youngest he took Dean by the hand and hurried back the way they came. They had to find Sammy and fast.

At the shooting booth

Greg leaned against the counter of his booth and sighed. He hadn't had any business since that little boy had won the bunny for his big brother. It seemed no one was interested in shooting targets today. Glancing around at the crowd he noticed a gang of boys headed toward the back of the fairgrounds. Groaning he realized that they were the punks that had terrorized the fair customers two days earlier. _"Hmmm"_ he thought when he caught sight of a shaggy head high above the rest, _"looks like they've got themselves a new member."_ Briefly spotting two bright blue ears in the middle of the boys Greg sucked in a breath. "Oh shit! Not the kid!" he muttered. Snatching the "gone on a break" sign that was hanging from a post he swept the guns and prizes off the counter and set it up. He vaulted over the short counter and ran over to the booth next to his. "Pete, I need your help. Those goons are back. Chuck, call security and have them met us behind the funnel cake booth." He instructed as he set off down the path. "Oh, and watch my booth for me." He called back over his shoulder.

Behind the booths

Billy glanced behind them to make sure they were far enough away from the booths to be noticed before giving the signal to stop. Patting the blue rabbit on the head he sweetly asked, "Hey Sammy. That's a really cute bunny you have there. Think I could hold it for a minute?" before snatching the stuffed animal out of the youngest Winchester's arms.

Sammy's puppy dog eyes stared at his new friend. "Billy, give him back! He's mine!" he growled crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh, you want him back? Here you go, Sammy." Billy cackled holding out the animal only to pull him back when Sam reached for him. "Come on. You want him, come get him." He challenged.

Sammy glared at the man holding his bunny. He curled his hands into fists and ran up to the mean man intending to get his rabbit. Just as he got to the man Billy threw the stuffed toy over to one of the other men. Sammy skidded to a stop and changed course headed for Bruce who was holding the bunny by its ears. "Give it back!" he hollered as he ran at the man who then tossed the toy to one of the others as they formed a circle around the boy. Sammy ran from one man to the other trying to get his prize only to watch as it was repeatedly thrown through the air. Angry and frustrated Sammy stopped in the middle of the circle and stomped his foot. "Gimme my bunny!" he shouted.

"Awww, what's a matter freak?" Billy asked roughly shoving Sammy from behind. "Don't you like our little game?"

"NO! I want my bunny!" Sammy hollered stumbling as the men began to push him back and forth to each other while Bruce stood to the side holding the bunny. The shoving and kicking went on for several minutes until a particularly hard kick to the back sent Sammy careening into a post before he hit the ground hard. Sitting up he drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs as tears began to stream down his face.

Wanting to get in on the fun Bruce called out, "Hey guys! I think bunny here is sick. Looks like I'm gonna have to operate." He reached behind him, pulled his knife out of its sheath, and thrust it into the middle of the bunny. Ignoring Sammy's screams he sliced an opening straight down the middle of the stuffed animal and began pulling the stuffing out of the toy.

"NOOOOO!" Sammy wailed reaching for the bunny.

"Look at the poor little retard! Kid's in love with a stuffed bunny. Maybe someone should show the freak what real love is." Billy crowed as he kneeled down in front of the youngster. "Yeah, I think that's just what he needs. Grab him boys." He grinned as his friends grabbed Sammy by the arms and hauled him up. Billy stood and reached for the button of Sammy's jeans. Feeling the boy shiver as he unfastened his pants Billy laughed. "Don't worry, you little freak! I'm not gonna hurt you…much."

With the Winchesters

"SAMMY!" Dean hollered as he ran beside his dad. They had almost made it back to the pie booth and they still hadn't seen any sign of Sammy. Looking over the people at the funnel cake line Dean huffed when he didn't see the now familiar head sticking up out of the crowd. He glanced at the other side of the walkway where a water squirting game was located. But he still didn't see his enormous brother. Just as he was starting to freak out he heard someone shout his name. Turning his head Dean saw the man from the shooting booth and another man running toward them. Fearing the worst Dean rushed up to them and started firing questions. "Where's Sammy? Is he okay? Did he get hurt?"

Greg glanced down at the little boy before meeting the father's gaze. "A gang of thugs just took him between the booths over there. Security is on the way but I'm afraid they'll get here too late. We've got to get to Sammy fast before those goons have a chance to hurt the kid. Come on." With that Greg turned and led the way up to and between the two booths where the gang had disappeared minutes ago. Greg, Pete, John, and Dean raced around the corner of the booths and stopped dead in their tracks. "Oh, God no!" Greg muttered as he took in the scene in front of him.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural- Greg, Pete, John, and Dean raced around the corner of the booths and stopped dead in their tracks. "Oh, God no!" Greg muttered as he took in the scene in front of him.

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John shook with the rage at the sight of his baby boy being held by two men while the man in front of him was starting to unfasten his son's jeans. Hearing Sammy cry out for his daddy jolted him out of the state of disbelief he was in and spurred him into action. With a primal scream John barreled toward the group slamming into the man who had just begun to unzip his baby's jeans. He landed heavily on top of the thug, easily rolled off, and stood assuming a defensive position. He was going to enjoy this.

Greg and Pete ran up to the two men that were holding the youngest Winchester. They smirked at the young goons before they each punched the closest man to them causing the two to release Sammy as they staggered backwards. Fists flew as the good Samaritans pounded on the wanna be gangsters.

Dean watched his dad tackle the man messing with his little brother. Unable to sit on the sidelines any longer he raced after the two carnival workers sliding to a stop in front of Sammy who had collapsed to the ground as soon as the men let him go. He slowly walked over to the shivering ball that was his baby brother. Dean reached out and gently put a hand on Sam's shoulder frowning when his brother jumped and pulled away from him. Retracting his hand he bent down in front of his brother and said, "Sammy? Sammy, its okay. It's just me, your big brother Dean." He smiled as Sammy slowly peered over his knees at him. He held out his arms bracing himself as his giant of a brother threw himself into the safety of his big brother's embrace.

A kick to the stomach sent Billy Evans sprawling on the ground once more. Laughing John walked up to the downed man making a point of stepping on the punk's hands. "That the best you got, twerp. My eight year old can put up a better fight than that and he doesn't even need a bunch of friends to help." John taunted. He easily dodged the fist that came his way. Faking a yawn he sidestepped another attack and then threw a nasty right hook catching the young punk in the mouth. John glared at the man. "Not so easy when they fight back, is it?" he growled landing another punch to the face and smiling at the resounding crack that sounded.

Seeing his friends losing the battle Bruce glanced around the battlefield for anything that might turn the tide back in their favor. Spotting the kid that started it all he dropped the now destroyed stuffed toy, resheathed his knife, and walked up behind the young boy who was holding the stupid retard. Grabbing the boy by the upper arm he dragged him away from the crying man on the ground intent on using the kid as leverage to stop the others. He didn't count on the kid being able to fight back.

Dean felt Sammy tense a moment before someone grabbed his arm and pulled him away from his brother. He struggled to break free cursing up a storm as the man drug him further and further from Sammy. Remembering his training Dean calmed himself down and stopped struggling waiting for the opportunity to get the upper hand. He didn't have to wait long. As soon as the man stopped walking Dean spun around and kicked his captor square in the crotch. The man immediately dropped letting go of Dean and clutching himself. "Bullseye!" Dean crowed with a grin. He stuck his tongue out at the goon before turning and heading back to his little brother.

Sammy sat on the ground with his thumb in his mouth as he watched the man take his big brother away. He slowly began to rock back and forth and laid his head on his knees as the tears continued to stream down his face. Hearing Dean's shout Sammy peered through his long bangs eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the man on the ground and Dean walking back to him. He sat up and reached out for his brother once more giving Dean a slight smile. The smile slid off his face seconds later when he saw the man get up and start toward Dean. Sammy watched in horror as the man reached behind him and pulled out his knife. Remembering what happened to his bunny Sammy began to shake knowing that the man was going to do that to Dean, too. He saw the man lift the knife and did the only thing he could. He screamed, "DEAN!"

In another part of the fairgrounds

Walking out of the tent to take a break she stumbled back as the aftershock of an enormous power surge reverberated through the fairgrounds. _"Such power!"_ she thought. _"With that kind of power I could rid myself of this dog and pony show and have everything I ever wanted. I must have it!" _she thought. With her goal in mind she turned in the direction the psychic blast had come from and hurried off. She had to find the source before it got away.

Back with the Winchesters

Dean, who had spun around at Sammy's shout, watched in shock as the goon with the knife went flying through the air and crashed into a tree. "What the hell?" he thought as he glanced from Sammy to the unconscious man and back. Shrugging his shoulders he turned and raced back to his little brother.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps that heralded the arrival of security, John decided to stop playing and finish the little punk off before security could stop him. He glared at the bleeding young man in front of him. "Sounds like you lucked up this time punk. Security's coming to save your scrawny a$$. Stay the hell away from my boys 'cause next time I'll make sure there's no one around to stop me from giving you what you deserve." He growled. He then landed a solid kick to Billy's stomach, spun around, and delivered a side kick to the side of the boy's head knocking him out. Recalling what the young punk had planned to do to his son John glared down at the man and delivered one last kick, this time to the groin, before turning and hurrying over to Sammy and Dean's side.

John stayed with his boys watching as security talked with Greg and Pete before handcuffing the five unconscious men and carrying them away from the scene. He only stepped away from the boys long enough to answer one security guard's endless stream of questions. Once he was finished he shook the man's hand and returned to his boys. Kneeling down in front of Sammy he gently brushed the bangs out of his baby's face. "You boys okay?" he asked.

"I wanna go home, daddy!" Sammy cried, "I don't like the fair no more!"

"That's the best idea I've heard all day sport." John agreed standing back up. He reached down, helped Sammy stand, and started walking toward the booths making sure he had a firm grip on Dean and Sammy's hands. He wasn't going to lose either one of them this time. They had only gone a couple of steps when he felt Sammy stop and yank his hand out of his grasp. Surprised he glanced over to see Sammy dropping down on the ground a few inches away from him. "Sammy, what's wrong, kiddo?" he inquired walking up beside his son. He sucked in a breath when he saw the remains of Sammy's bunny lying on the ground around his son.

Sammy picked up several pieces of the bunny and held them out to John. "Daddy fix bunny?" he softly asked pinning his dad with his dreaded puppy dog eyes.

Knowing there was no way to save the destroyed toy John racked his brain for the right thing to say. "Well, Sammy, ummm, you see he, uhhh…" he stammered.

Noticing the father's predicament Greg quickly stepped in. He knelt down in front of the young man and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Sammy buddy, I don't think your daddy's going to be able to fix your bunny. He's hurt too bad. I'm sorry Sammy. I wish we could fix him for you." Greg stated taking the pieces from the youngest Winchester. He winced as fresh tears started rolling down the boy's face. Greg handed the toy over to Pete and scratched his chin. "You know that reminds me. I have a big problem. See, your bunny there had a twin brother. And his twin's been awful lonely since you took his brother. He doesn't like being by himself. You don't know any nice little boys that would be willing to give a big, blue bunny a home, do you Sammy?"

Dean grinned at the kind man's fib. He was really started to like this guy. Dean grinned and gave the man a grateful nod as Sammy quickly volunteered to take in the "lonely" bunny.

After getting the new bunny from Greg and stopping by the pie booth for Dean's prize, the three Winchesters walked out of the fairgrounds and climbed into the impala. John steered the car out of the dirt parking lot and drove down the road toward Bobby's house. He was more than ready to put this day behind him. Glancing into his rearview mirror to check on his boys he smiled at the image of Sammy sleeping with his head pillowed on Dean's lap. Sammy was holding his bunny securely clutched in one arm and sucking his thumb while Dean gently ran his fingers through his little brother's hair.

At the fairgrounds

She stood at the edge of the parking lot watching the black car disappear from sight. The woman was livid! Her prey had managed to escape the grounds before she could capture him and take what should rightfully be hers. But there was one small bright spot; she had been in time to write down the car's license plate number. Now if she could just get a little more information from security, she might still be able to get her prize.

At Bobby's

John pulled up to the house and cut the engine. Climbing out he took a moment to stretch before opening the back door. He helped a still sleepy Sammy get out of the car frowning as his son raced to the front door and hurried inside shouting for Bobby. Sharing a concerned look with Dean John walked up the porch steps. Hearing a loud crash from inside he ran across the porch and into the house with Dean hot on his heels. Seeing nothing amiss in the living room the duo dashed towards the kitchen. They froze in the doorway and glanced from the scene before them to each other. Sprawled on the floor was a surprised looking Bobby with Sammy sitting on top of him. Guessing that his little boy had forgotten about his new height and tried to jump into his uncle's arms John smirked as he began to laugh. "I take it Sammy found you?" John joked amidst chuckles.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural- Guessing that his little boy had forgotten about his new height and tried to jump into his uncle's arms John smirked as he began to laugh. "I take it Sammy found you?" John joked amidst chuckles.

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Laughter filled the tiny kitchen as Sammy awkwardly climbed off his uncle and scooted behind his big brother. He peered through his bangs at his still floored uncle as he nervously shuffled from foot to foot.

John shot a puzzled glance at his youngest before leaning over and offering Bobby a hand up. Still chuckling he helped his friend get to his feet and over to a chair. "You okay, Bobby?" he asked walking to the counter. Picking up the coffee pot John swiftly poured two mugs and returned to the table. He set one on the table in front of his old friend and then dropped into a nearby chair.

"I'm fine, Johnny" Bobby grumbled as he took a sip of his coffee. He glared at his smirking friend and then turned to look at the boys who were still standing in the middle of the room. His gaze softened when he caught sight of the youngest Winchester trying to hide his huge frame behind his big brother. Seeing the scared look on his nephew's face Bobby smiled and motioned him over. "Come here, Sammy." He coached pushing his chair back from the table a little bit.

Unsure what to do Sammy glanced down at his big brother seeking his advice. After getting an approving nod and grin from Dean, Sam reluctantly stepped out from behind his brother and slowly shuffled to the table. Stopping just out of his uncle's reach he nervously twirled the hem of his shirt. "I'm sorry Uncle Bobby." he whispered as his lower lip began to tremble, "Please don't spank me."

Floored by Sammy's quiet plea Bobby stood and held out his arms bracing himself as the boy practically threw himself into his embrace. "I'm not gonna spank you, kiddo." He assured Sammy. "You didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Feeling Sammy's nod from within the hug Bobby smiled down at the shaggy head on his shoulder. "Good" he said, "Then what do you say we go out back and get the grill up and running? I don't know about you but I'm starving."

"Okay" Sammy agreed pulling out of the hug. He followed Bobby to the back door and stopped. "Wait! Foo Foo's still in the car! I gotta go get him. He doesn't like to be by himself." Sammy turned and ran to Dean. "C'mon Dean! We gotta get Foo Foo! Hurry!"

Bobby watched in amusement as both boys dashed out of the kitchen and through the living room. Once he heard the screen door slam he turned and walked out the door and over to the grill by the back porch steps. "I'm guessing from the name that Foo Foo is a rabbit." He ventured grabbing the enormous bag of charcoal. "I knew Dean shouldn't have taught Sammy that song."

"That's what you get for teaching the song to Dean. And to answer your question yeah, it's a stuffed rabbit. Dean won it for him at the shooting booth." John replied dousing the charcoal with lighter fluid. "Actually, it's a replacement of the one Dean won." John amended. "Sammy had a little run in with a gang of thugs and they kinda destroyed the first one."

"A gang?" Bobby gasped. "What the hell happened Winchester? And where were you and Dean?"

"It's a long story Bobby." John began motioning for his friend to take a seat. He took a seat on the steps beside Bobby and quickly explained how they had lost Sammy and what the gang had been doing when they found him. John went on to tell him about the fight and Greg giving Sammy another bunny to replace the one the men had ripped apart.

Bobby grew angrier and angrier as John's recount of the events at the fair continued. Getting to his feet he started pacing in front of the steps kicking rocks and twigs as he went. When his friend finished his story, Bobby stormed over to a nearby tree and lashed out repeatedly hitting the punching bag that was hanging from one of its branch. Once he had managed to calm down a little he walked back over to the porch and up the stairs. "Shit! The kid's not safe anywhere! We've gotta find that trickster fast." He growled.

"I know Bobby" John agreed following his friend inside. "We'll get the boys fed and bathed and then we have work to do."

Later that night

"The End" John whispered closing the book in his hands. Placing the cherished book on the small shelf between the two beds John slowly and quietly stood. He pulled the blankets up around both his boys tucking them securely in. Leaning over Sammy John brushed his wayward bangs out of his eyes once more before kissing his baby boy's forehead. He repeated his actions with Dean glad that his eldest wasn't awake to protest. He stood for several minutes just watching his boys sleep. He could pretty much guarantee Sammy would be having at least one nightmare tonight. He could tell by the way his little one had stayed glued to his big brother's side all evening. He just hoped that they would get a few good hours of sleep in before it started. John glanced at both boys one more time and then silently headed out of the room leaving the door cracked enough that he would hear when the nightmares started. He had a trickster to hunt down.

John leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He and Bobby had been sifting through newspapers and old books for the past three hours and they still hadn't found any trace of the elusive trickster. It was like it had just disappeared into thin air. And that didn't make sense. Climbing out of his chair John went over to the counter and poured himself another cup of coffee. He was missing something. He had to be. He took a swig of his coffee and walked back to the table dropping his mug when a terrified scream cut through the silence of the room. John raced through the living room and up the stairs. Dashing into the boys' room he found a distraught Sammy sitting on the bed knees pulled up to his chest with Dean attempting to comfort him. Making it to the bed in two long strides John sat on the opposite side of the bed from Dean and carefully placed his hand on Sammy's arm wincing when his son flinched at his touch. "Sammy son, it's okay. Daddy's here." He soothed as he rubbed his little boy's arm. "It was just a bad dream, buddy. You're okay. Nothing bad is going to happen to you."

After several minutes of whispered assurances from both John and Dean, Sammy finally uncurled his arms and legs and leaned against his daddy. John scooted back on the bed until his back rested on the headboard and allowed Sammy to snuggle to his side with his head resting on his father's chest. Dean waited for his brother to settle before climbing onto the bed and propping himself up on Sammy's other side. The two elder Winchesters sat there comforting their youngest until they all drifted off to sleep.

Late the next morning

Yawning John walked into the kitchen and immediately made his way to the coffee pot on the counter. Glancing at the clock on the wall he was shocked to find that it was already ten o'clock in the morning. "Geez, Bobby, why didn't you wake me up?" he grumbled as he snatched a mug out of a cabinet and poured some coffee into it.

"From what I heard you didn't get much sleep" Bobby explained setting a heaping plate of bacon, eggs, and sausage in front of the hunter. "Besides, I've only been up a half hour myself."

"Sorry man" John apologized stabbing at a sausage link with his fork. "I was hoping that Sammy hadn't kept you awake, too."

"Not a problem Johnny" Bobby replied. He carried his empty plate to the sink. "I'll get started on the research while you…" He tapered off as the phone began ringing. Bobby quickly answered the phone before the shrill sound could wake the boys. "Singer, here…what'ya got?...where?...when…got it. Thanks, Jim!" He hung up the receiver and turned to grin at John. "We've got a lead on the trickster. Jim said there are some strange occurrences popping up in a town about an hour away from here. Looks like the trickster's handiwork." He explained as he picked up his keys. "I'll get Josh and go check it out. You stay here with the boys."

"No way, Bobby! That evil SOB did this to Sammy to get back at me." John countered. "I'm going!"

"Daddy, where are you going?" a sleep filled voice asked from the stairs.

Turning John saw Sammy standing on the bottom step rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Smiling he walked over to his son. "Daddy has to go do something for his job, Sammy." He told his youngest.

"But, but daddy what if the bad men come here and get me?" Sammy cried pinning his father with his puppy dog eyes.

"It's okay Sammy. Uncle Bobby's going to be here with you." John assured his baby. "He won't let anything bad happen to you and Dean."

Sammy glanced between his father and Bobby chewing on his lip in thought. "Promise?" he quietly mumbled.

"I promise, Sammy" John pledged ignoring the looks Bobby was throwing his way. "Daddy has to go now Sammy but I'll be back in just a little while. You be a good boy for Uncle Bobby, alright little man?" he instructed ruffling Sammy's sleep mussed hair.

"Yes sir" Sammy replied giving his daddy a goodbye hug. He watched as his daddy and uncle had a heated discussion before his uncle handed his dad a set of keys and his father walked out the door.

Bobby stood at the door until his truck had disappeared from sight. _"Danged idgit"_ he cursed under his breath. Turning to Sammy he plastered on a grin and held out his hand. "Come on Sammy. Let's go get you something to eat." He said taking the boy's offered hand and walking him into the kitchen. He led Sammy to the table and poured him a glass of orange juice. Handing it to the little boy Bobby noticed that the clock on the tattoo now said two instead of three. Heading over to the fridge to get more eggs and bacon out he prayed that John and Josh found the trickster. Sammy's time was quickly running out.

That afternoon

"Uncle Bobby, can we go to the park?" Sammy asked once again from his spot on the floor. "Please? You said we could go later."

"Later doesn't mean five minutes, Sammy." Bobby answered not even glancing up from his book. "I already told you we would go when Uncle Bobby finishes his reading. Now why don't you finish coloring that picture for your daddy."

"But I am finished." Sammy whined holding up his picture.

Bobby looked at the roughly drawn squiggles and lines that made up the very colorful creation. "Great job, sport." He praised as he attempted to come up with something for the youngest Winchester to do while Dean was taking a shower. It only took a few seconds for the perfect plan to form. "Why don't you make one for Dean? Bet he would really like a picture. Maybe you could draw him one to make up for spilling your chocolate milk on him at lunch."

"Okay" Sammy eagerly agreed. He turned back around and started to work on another masterpiece.

Smirking at his own cleverness Bobby glanced down at Sammy once more before taking his book into the quiet kitchen to read. He wanted to be ready if John's hunt turned out to be a bust.

Sammy was carefully coloring his picture when he heard a small voice beside him. He spun around in a circle but couldn't see anyone. "Dean, is that you?" he whispered.

"No, not Dean. Down here" the voice called. Sammy peered down in the direction of the voice. His eyes widened as he gazed at his stuffed bunny. "Foo Foo? You can talk?" he asked in amazement.

"Yep, sure can, kiddo. But don't talk so loud. The grownups don't like it when I talk." the stuffed bunny replied mentally smirking when the youngest Winchester nodded his agreement. "Let's go to the park. I want to go to the park, Sammy."

"But we can't." Sammy whispered. "Uncle Bobby said he can't take us now."

The bunny glanced back at the kitchen for a moment and then turned his stare back to Sammy. "So" he said. "You're a big boy now. You don't need your uncle to take you. You can drive us to the park all by yourself."

"But I don't know how to drive." Sammy replied picking up the stuffed toy.

"That's okay, kid. I'll tell you everything you need to know." The bunny assured the little boy. "Now come on. Let's go before your uncle comes back. You get your daddy's keys and I'll write your brother and uncle a note so they won't worry."

Excited by the prospect of driving his daddy's car Sammy quickly stood and walked over to the small table where the impala keys sat. He scooped them up and went back to his bunny. After looking over the note the bunny wrote and seeing the letters that Dean had told him about, Sammy picked up Foo Foo and silently walked outside. He made his way to the impala, opened the door, and settled himself into the driver's seat placing his bunny on the seat beside him. He searched the keys for the one he knew his daddy used for the car and then stuck the key in the ignition. Turning the key in the ignition he smiled as the impala's engine revved. Following Foo Foo's instructions he placed his hand on the gear shift and slowly began to inch it backwards.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

AN- This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful friend Vonnie! Happy Birthday girl! Hope you enjoy your present!

Previously on Supernatural- Following Foo Foo's instructions he placed his hand on the gear shift and slowly began to inch it backwards.

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Bobby slammed the ancient book closed in frustration. In all the pages he'd read about tricksters he hadn't been able to come up with a single piece of new information. All his books seemed to contain the same info; what tricksters were, what kind of prey they preferred, and how to kill them. There was nothing that might give them a clue about where the trickster was hiding out. Aggravated at the waste of time Bobby shoved his chair back from the table and stomped over to the counter. Dropping his mug beside the sink he snatched up the coffee pot and poured himself another cup. Hearing the roar of an engine he set the pot down and started toward the living room. It only took a couple of seconds for him to recognize the growl of the impala's engine. Cursing under his breath Bobby broke into a run. He raced through the living room and out the front door. Once outside he stood open mouthed unable to believe his eyes. The impala was slowly backing down the driveway with Sammy at the wheel? _"What the hell?!"_ Bobby thought staring at the youngster in the driver's seat. He saw Sammy's eyes widen and knew the kid was about to do something stupid an instant before the impala's engine roared and it shot backwards ramming into a tree. "Sammy!" Bobby hollered as he sprinted to the crashed car.

Down the road from Bobby's house

John and Joshua grumpily sat in the back of the beat up old pick up as it sputtered down the road. Neither said a word. They were both too angry about the unfortunate series of events that had led to them coming back to Bobby's house instead of hunting the trickster as planned. Bracing as the truck came to an abrupt stop at Bobby's driveway John and Josh climbed out of the bed of the truck before reaching back and retrieving their gear.

"Thanks, Mr. Smith" Josh called waving at the old man. He waited for the truck to drive off and then followed John down Bobby's long drive. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the trickster. Of course that was if they could get a vehicle that actually worked. Shaking his head at the morning's events he sped up catching up to John. A few more feet down the drive he jumped at a loud crash! Sharing a panicked look with John Josh broke into a run.

Both men dashed down the dirt drive praying that Bobby and the boys were alright. John and Josh rounded a corner and skidded to a stop. The color drained from both of their faces as they took in the sight of the impala's trunk smashed against a tree and Bobby kneeling at the driver's side door. The hunters started for the car once again doubling their speed when the sound of Sammy crying reached their ears. Running up to the driver's side of the car they glanced around Bobby and gasped. "Sammy?" Josh whispered.

Seeing his scared little boy reaching for him John quickly nudged Bobby out of the way and knelt down beside the driver's seat. He wrapped his arms around Sammy and hugged him tight for a couple of minutes. He then loosened his grip on his son, sat back a little, and began checking his son for injuries. Not finding a single mark on Sammy John let out a relieved breath and embraced his little boy once more.

"He alright, Johnny?" Bobby asked.

"Sammy's fine" John replied standing and helping Sammy out of the car. "You wanna tell me what's going on, Bobby?"

"Let's get inside first, John" Bobby said as he started for the house. "You're gonna want to sit down for this one." Ignoring the puzzled look Joshua threw his way Bobby led the group up the porch steps and into the house. He dropped into his favorite recliner and motioned for the others to sit down. He waited for everyone to take a seat and then began. "Okay, it's like this…"

"What's going on?" Dean called from the bottom of the stairs. He walked into the living room still toweling his hair dry and stopped in front of his dad. "Dad, what are you and Josh doing back? And why is Sammy crying?"

"That's a long story, Dean. Let's just say that something definitely didn't want us going out of town. What about you? Why are you taking a shower in the middle of the day?" John asked scooting over to give his eldest room to sit beside him. "Didn't you just take one this morning?"

"Yes sir, I did. But then Sammy tripped and spilled his chocolate milk all over my head." Dean explained.

"Oh, guess that explains the shower." John replied hiding a smile. Turning to Bobby he added, "Your turn. What happened to the impala?"

"Well" Bobby began taking off his cap and scrunching it in his hands, "It seems Sammy here decided he wanted to go for a drive."

"He what?" John hissed glaring at Sammy who dropped his head and started toying with the hem of his shirt. Putting a hand under his little boy's chin John lifted Sammy's head forcing his son to meet his gaze. "Sammy, did you try to drive daddy's car?" he asked.

"Yes sir" Sammy whispered as tears starting running down his face again. "Me and Foo Foo were going to the park. But then I sawed Uncle Bobby and I got scared. I tried to stop daddy, but the 'pala went faster and faster and then it went BANG! and I hit my chin and it hurt!"

John stood and walked across the room to calm himself down a little before he did something he would really regret. Standing by the fireplace he scrubbed a hand across his face and then turned back to his wayward son. "Sammy, you know better than that. Daddy told you that you and Dean both that you can't drive daddy's car until you have a driver's license." John scolded.

"But I do have one, daddy. See?" Sammy replied holding up an index card that had squiggles interspersed with various letters at the bottom and a stick figure with a couple of brown lines for hair drawn on the top.

Taking the card from Sammy John quickly tore it up and threw it in the trashcan by the front door. "Sammy" John warned.

Seeing the "mad dad" face his father was wearing Sammy sobbed harder. "I'm s, s, sorry dad, dy. I didn't mean to, to be bad. I just wanted to go, to go to the park."

"Sammy, you know you aren't allowed to play in the impala." John scolded placing his hands on his hips.

"Yes sir" Sammy cried leaning against Dean. "But Foo Foo…"

"Samuel Winchester, that's enough!" John bellowed. "Go up to your room right this minute, young man. You and I need to have a little talk about daddy's rules." He watched as Sammy ran out of the room and flew up the stairs. Turning to the others he shook his head. "Bobby, can you guys get the impala away from that tree for me? See how bad the damage is while I take care of our little runaway?" he asked.

"Sure Johnny" Bobby agreed. "Just do me a favor and go easy on the little guy. All this mess with the trickster is taking a heavy toll on the kid."

"Don't worry, Bobby. I'm not gonna go postal on him." John assured his friend as he started up the stairs. "I'm just gonna give him a little reminder about what happens to bad little boys."

Bobby waited until John disappeared up the stairs and then turned to Dean. "Come on Dean. We're gonna need somebody to steer the impala while Josh and I push." He said patting the young boy on the back.

"I get to drive. Cool!" Dean whispered following his uncles out the door.

A few hours later

John, Bobby, and Joshua sat around the kitchen table going over all Bobby's books again in search of any wards to keep the trickster away from the house and surrounding yard. After getting the full story from Sammy upstairs John was convinced that the voice Sammy heard was the trickster's and he was determined not to let that creature near his son again. With Sammy asleep upstairs and Dean watching television in the other room the men could focus their efforts on the hunt. The sound of a car engine had John scrambling out of his chair and racing into the living room with his friends right behind him. "Dean, get upstairs with Sammy." He ordered as he walked to the window and peered outside. Seeing the familiar face step out of a red SUV and wave at the driver he relaxed marginally. Mouthing "holy water" to Bobby John walked over to the front door and opened it. "Hey Vonnie" he greeted. "What brings you out this way?"

"John, what are you doing here?" Nurse Vonnie asked as she hugged her old friend. "The last I heard you and the boys were in Minnesota."

"Vonnie!" Bobby called as he stepped into the room. "You come to see about that old rust bucket you husband calls a car?"

"'Fraid so. Jensen wanted me to come check on it for him." She explained accepting the glass of water from Bobby and taking a few sips.

"I've got it ready for him." Bobby informed his friend. "Take a load off. I'll go get it for you."

"Thanks, Bobby" Vonnie said making herself comfortable on the couch. "So, John what brings you this way?"

"That's kind of a long story, Vonnie" John replied walking over to the couch. "Let me get us some coffee and I'll tell you all about it. Oh and…" Smiling he leaned over and kissed the young lady. "Happy Birthday, Vonnie!" he added with a grin.

Stunned Vonnie watched John walk into the kitchen. "How'd he know it was my birthday?" she muttered to herself.

"I think it's the sticker" Josh chuckled pointing to the large, round sticker proclaiming, "It's my Birthday!"

Vonnie glanced down at the sticker and blushed. "I'd forgotten all about it. One of the kids at the hospital gave me that first thing this morning."

"Vonnie?" a sleepy voice called from the other side of the room.

"Yes?" Nurse Vonnie replied staring at the muscular young man standing in the doorway wearing only a tee shirt and boxers. "Do I know you?"

"Vonnie! It's me, Sammy!" the youngest Winchester giggled. He ran over and jumped on the couch beside his friend. Throwing his arms around her neck Sammy gave her a big hug before planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "I missed you!"

"Hey Vonnie" Dean greeted walking up to the couch. "Sammy, let Vonnie go. She doesn't need you slobbering on her."

"Well, it looks like the secret's out" John joked as he entered the room. Shooing the boys off the couch he sat down beside Vonnie and offered her a cup of coffee. He then explained the week's events minus the incident at the fair. When he finished his explanation, he gave the young lady a few minutes to take in everything.

"That has got to be one of the wildest things I've ever heard." Vonnie confessed staring at Sammy as he happily watched cartoons with his big brother. "Do you have any leads on the trickster yet?"

"We're working on it" Bobby replied as he came into the living room with a set of car keys. "Here you go. I drove the car around front for you."

"Thanks again Bobby" Vonnie said. She exchanged the coffee mug for the keys and stood. "Guess I should be going. Jensen's taking me out to dinner and a movie for my birthday, just the two of us and I don't want to be late. Thanks for the coffee, John. I hope you find that trickster and turn Sammy back into his adorable little self soon."

"Oh, don't worry. We will." Bobby assured her as he walked her to the door and gave her a hug. "Happy Birthday, Vonnie. You and Jensen have a great time tonight."

"I plan on it." Vonnie said with a smile. "And if you guys need anything, don't hesitate to call. I'll be more than happy to help you out even if it's just watching the boys for a while."

"Thanks for the offer. I just might take you up on that." John informed her.

"I hope you do. I love watching Dean and Sammy. They're two little angels." Vonnie said. After saying goodnight to the boys and getting goodnight hugs in return, Vonnie walked out the door.

"Uncle Bobby?" Sammy called from the floor. "Can we have a snack? I'm hungry."

"No, Sammy. We're going to eat dinner soon." John answered.

"Guess that means I need to go cook us up something to eat." Bobby muttered heading for the kitchen.

"Not so fast Bobby." John said putting out a hand to stop his friend. "I think after the day we've all had, we should go out and eat tonight. We could all use the break."

"I'm with John." Joshua agreed. "It's been one hell of a day. A night out will do us all some good."

"Okay" Bobby mumbled. He helped John get Sammy dressed and the boys washed up and slowly followed them out the door. He had a really bad feeling about this.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural- "Okay" Bobby mumbled. He helped John get Sammy dressed and the boys washed up and slowly followed them out the door. He had a really bad feeling about this.

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Driving into town John glanced from one side of the road to the other searching for the best spot to eat. He quickly discounted stopping at McDonald's; the last thing they needed was a clown meltdown. Burger King and Wendy's were also out. Sammy wouldn't be able to resist the playgrounds and with his new size he'd probably end up getting stuck in one of the pipes leading to the slide. That left IHOP or the elegant La Chez restaurant. _"Well, that's an easy decision."_ John thought turning into the IHOP parking lot. He pulled into the closest available parking spot and cut off the engine. Opening the door he climbed out making sure to face the front of the impala the whole time. He couldn't bear to look at the damage the trickster's little joke had caused.

Sammy excitedly followed Bobby and Dean out of the car. Taking his daddy's hand he happily walked up to the door of the restaurant and went inside. His eyes jumped from one thing to another taking in every aspect of the fast food place. Giving the hostess a dimpled grin Sammy skipped over to their table and plopped down on the bench between his dad and Dean. Picking up his placemat he turned it over revealing the children's mazes and coloring picture. "Can I have the crayons, please?" he asked Dean who quickly handed them over. "Thanks Dean" he said before grabbing a green crayon and beginning to color.

"Good evening gentlemen. My name is Trace and I'll be your waitress today." A beautiful young blond woman greeted as she pulled a pad from her apron pocket. "Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?"

"Ahh, give us a minute." John replied smiling at the friendly waitress.

"Okay" Trace agreed casting an appraising eye over the handsome young man at the table. "How about I get your drinks first? That should give you time to figure out what you'd like."

"Sure, I'll have a cup of coffee." Joshua told her smiling as Bobby and John ordered the same.

"Coke, please" Dean politely ordered.

"Alright. What about you handsome? What can I get you?" Trace asked Sammy as she brushed a stray hair out of his face.

"Can I have chocolate milk?" Sammy hesitantly inquired.

"Sure sugar" Trace replied with a smile. "Be right back."

Once the waitress left to fill their order the men began the most difficult task of the evening; choosing their meal. John turned to the children's menu and read it to his boys allowing them to pick what they wanted. Afterwards, he carefully flipped through all the pages comparing up the different meals before deciding on the steak and eggs.

Trace couldn't believe her luck! What had to be the world's most gorgeous man was sitting at one of her tables and he wasn't wearing a wedding band! She couldn't wait to tell her friends. Boy were they gonna be jealous especially if she managed to land a date with the hunk. Picking up the table's drinks Trace carefully balanced them on the tray and walked back to the table where the man of her dreams was sitting.

"_Oh this is gonna be too easy."_ Sharon thought to herself as she watched the small family. She twisted the large ruby ring on her finger as she eyed the powerful young man in the middle of the group. The thought of his powers sent a shiver of excitement down her spine. She couldn't wait to get him away from his family so she could put her plan into motion. All she needed was one chance and the kid would be hers.

"Here's your drinks, fellows" Trace said setting the glasses and cups in front of the men and boys. Pulling out her pad once more she quickly took down the supper orders before grabbing some straws and a scrap of paper out of her pocket. She placed a straw next to Dean's coke before leaning down and slipping the other straw and paper into Sammy's hand. "Call me sometime" she whispered in his ear.

Sammy gazed up at the young waitress in surprise. Shaking his head he said, "I can't. Dean says it's not nice to call people names."

Confused Trace replied, "I don't want you to call me a name."

Hearing his dad and uncles' chuckles Sammy cocked his head to one side and stared at them for a minute like they'd lost their minds. Turning back to the waitress he said, "But, but you said to call you sometime." He thought for a moment before adding, "Is that your name?"

Seeing the red tinge on the waitress' face John decided to clue her in. Knowing he couldn't explain about the trickster he used what so many people had already assumed. "You'll have to excuse Sammy ma'am." John apologized. "He's a little bit slow."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." Trace said backing away from the table. "I'll just go place your order now." Turning around she quickly walked back to the kitchen.

"Well, that went well." Joshua sarcastically stated.

"Could have been…"

"Daddy! I gotta go potty!" Sammy interrupted as he bounced up and down on the bench.

Hearing the urgency in his baby boy's tone John swiftly stood and pulled Sammy up. "Come on kiddo. Let's go." He said. Grabbing Sammy's hand John lead his son to the other side of the restaurant, through the double doors, and down a short hallway to the men's room. Upon opening the door the two saw that there was only one toilet in the tiny bathroom.

"I do it myself." Sammy demanded stepping into the bathroom. He pushed John back and shut the door.

Grinning at his son's independence John leaned against the wall to wait. He glanced up when the double doors swung open and an older woman walked into the hall. After carefully scrutinizing the fifty something lady who was almost as wide as she was tall, John determined that she wasn't a threat. He nodded and smiled at her before turning back around.

Looking uncomfortable the older woman quickly walked down the hallway tripping over her feet just as she past him. She threw her hands out to catch herself and closed her eyes. Feeling arms around her waist she opened her eyes to find herself face to face with John Winchester. "Thank you" she told him extending her hand.

"Not a problem" John replied shaking her hand. A sudden jab had him pulling his hand away and staring down at it. Noticing a small pin prick of blood welling up in his palm he wiped it off and glanced up at the woman.

"Oh sorry about that. You must have cut yourself on my ring." The woman apologized showing John her overly large ruby ring.

John swayed as a wave of dizziness swept over him. Leaning against the wall he slowly slid to the floor fighting to keep his eyes open. Peering up at the now grinning woman he scowled. "What, what did you do?" he whispered propping his head on his shaking hands.

"I just slipped you a little something." Sharon explained. "Don't worry. It's not permanent. I just needed you out of the way so Sammy and I could have a little fun."

"Don't you dare tou, touch him!" John managed to get out as his eyes slid shut.

Sharon stared down at the now sleeping man and laughed. "Sleep well, Mr. Winchester. By the time you wake your son's powers will be mine!" she laughed. Hearing the toilet flush she quickly stood to one side turning her ring upside down once more.

Sammy opened the door to the bathroom frowning when he didn't see his daddy. Peeking into the hall he gasped as he caught sight of his father lying on the dirty hall floor. Running up to John Sammy knelt down beside him and grabbed his shoulder. "Daddy, wake up!" he called as he shook his dad. "Wake up daddy!" He was so busy attempting to wake his dad that he never even heard the woman come up behind him. Feeling a pinch on the back of his neck Sammy cried out. He placed his hand over the sore spot and rubbed it. Getting very sleepy all the sudden he sat down on his behind and yawned. In seconds Sammy was fast asleep.

"Piece of cake" Sharon muttered as she grabbed Sammy's hands and began dragging him down the hallway toward the end where she knew the employee exit was. Using a chair she propped open the door and pulled Sammy out to her waiting car. Struggling with Sammy's octopus arms and legs she tugged and yanked until she finally managed to stuff him into the back seat of her car. Slamming the door Sharon ran around to the driver's side. Throwing the door open she jumped in and sped off into the night.

AN- Trace, hope you don't mind me borrowing you for the story.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Previously on Supernatural- Slamming the door Sharon ran around to the driver's side. Throwing the door open she jumped in and sped off into the night.

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Dean impatiently tapped his fingers on the wooden table as he listened to Bobby and Josh's trickster brainstorming session. Glancing at the bright yellow smiley face clock on the wall he frowned. His dad and Sammy had been gone way too long for a potty break. Feeling an increasing sense of dread Dean scooted to the end of the bench and stood up. He needed to find his family now. "Uncle Bobby, I'm gonna go check on dad and Sammy. See if they need any help." Dean announced.

"Sit down Dean" Bobby ordered. "Your daddy and Sammy will be back in a few minutes. They've only been gone for…" Bobby's eyes widened as he glanced down at his watch. "Twenty minutes?! Shit, not even Sammy takes that long in the bathroom." Scrambling out of the booth Bobby stood and quickly steered Dean back to his seat. "Stay here with Josh, Dean. I'll go check on your daddy and Sammy." Turning he hurried away.

Following the restroom signs he crossed the restaurant and pushed through the double doors on one wall. Turning left the first thing he noticed was a slumped figure leaning against the wall about halfway down the hallway. Bobby sprinted over and kneeled beside John Winchester's unmoving body. He placed a couple of fingers on John's neck letting out a relieved breath at the strong, steady pulse he found there. Giving his friend a quick once over Bobby was surprised to find no injuries of any kind. After several attempts to awaken the unconscious Winchester failed, he sat back and ran a hand through his beard in thought. That's when he noticed the open bathroom door and the empty room beyond. Cursing Bobby stood and eyed the scene again this time from a hunter's perspective. Spotting drag marks on the nasty floor leading away from the bathroom he groaned. It was obvious that something or someone heavy had been dragged and Bobby thought he had a pretty good idea of who that someone was. Thanking the heavens for employees who didn't do their job he easily followed the marks all the way to the employee's entrance around the corner. Opening the door he stepped out and searched the immediate area figuring that whoever had taken Sammy wouldn't have been able to drag him very far. After a thorough search of the surrounding parking lot, Bobby was left empty handed. There was no trace of the youngest Winchester and no clue about the person or persons that had taken him. Knowing he needed to get John out of the hallway before someone found him and called the police or an ambulance Bobby hurried back through the door and over to John. He wrapped an arm around his friend's waist and threw one of John's arms over his shoulder. He carefully hoisted John up tightening his grip on the limp body. After making sure the coast was clear Bobby gently drug his friend over and out the door.

At the table

"Uncle Josh, can we go find them now?" Dean urged. "Uncle Bobby might need our help."

"Quit your worrying Dean-O!" Joshua groaned. "I'm sure your daddy and Uncle Bobby have every…" He cut off mid sentence as he caught sight of Bobby dragging someone over to the impala. Snatching his wallet he tossed some money on the table and stood. "Come on Dean. Time to go." He announced. Taking Dean by the hand Josh swiftly walked through the restaurant and out the door.

At an old cabin

Sharon pulled up to the driveway of her cabin and put the car in park. Opening the door she climbed out and looked around. Seeing a young man raking leaves at the cabin across the road she waved and called out, "Evening, Barry. Don't suppose you could help me for a moment?"

"Sure ma'am" the handsome blond headed man replied. "Just give me a second to tell my mom where I'm going."

"Thanks Barry" Sharon called before sitting back in her car. She slammed the door shut and slowly drove down the dirt drive coming to a stop right beside the front porch steps. Climbing out of the car once more she hurried up the steps and unlocked the front door. After flinging it open Sharon raced back down the stairs and to the car. Opening the back door she leaned inside pretending to be fussing over the unconscious boy in the back seat until she heard Barry clear his throat behind her. "Oh sorry Barry" she apologized with a smile. "I was just checking on my brother."

"Is he okay ma'am?" Barry asked glancing around the woman to stare at the young man lying haphazardly on the back seat.

"He will be. Sammy here just had a little too much to drink. My mom called when she found him at a bar drunk. Asked me to take him in for a little while and get him sorted out." Sharon easily lied. "The bartender was nice enough to put him in the car for me 'cause he's just too heavy for me to lift. That's where you come in. Do you think you could get him in the house for me? I'll be more than happy to pay you for your time."

"No problem Ms. B. I'll be glad to help." Barry replied. He reached into the car and gently pulled Sammy up into a sitting position. Leaning over he tipped Sam onto his shoulder, hoisted him up in a firemen's carry, and followed Sharon into the cabin. He carried Sammy down the hall and into the small bedroom before depositing him on the bed. "There you go ma'am" he said as he helped Sharon pull the blanket over Sammy's sleeping form. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you dear." Sharon answered picking up her purse and taking out a ten dollar bill. "You've done more than enough."

Barry waved off the money and headed for the door. "Okay, I've got to go now. I told mom I'd take her into town for a late supper. Call if you need anything." He called out as he stepped out the door.

Sharon walked over to the door and locked the deadbolt. "Oh, don't worry. I have everything I need right here." She mumbled as she turned made her way over to the rickety old desk in the corner. Pulling open the top drawer she reverently took out a dusty old book. She carried it lovingly to the kitchen and set it on the tiny table. Sharon slowly opened the book and thumbed through the pages searching for the incantation and spell she needed. Stopping about halfway through she laughed. "This is too easy." She said as she read over the list of ingredients to the potion she would need. She raced from cabinet to cabinet pulling out jars and bowls of different herbs and other ingredients. Once that was done she pulled out a pen and paper and made a list of any needed items. Knowing there was nothing more she could do till morning Sharon laid her list on top of the book and walked over to the closet by the door. Snatching up a length of rope she headed to the hallway. She had a psychic to tie up.

At Dr. McCoy's clinic

Bobby, Josh, and Dean sat fidgeting in the waiting room anxious to find out what was wrong with the oldest Winchester and hoping that he'd wake up and be able to tell them who took the youngest member of the family. Hearing the rumble of Dean's stomach Joshua quickly stood and walked to the door thankful to have something to do besides wait. "I'll go get us something from the vending machine down the hall. Any requests?" Seeing the others shake their heads he stepped out. "Okay then. No complaining about what I get." He called over his shoulder.

Bobby looked up at the sound of footsteps. Seeing Dr. McCoy making his way over to them he stood placing a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder. "How is he, doc?" he asked.

"John's just fine." Dr. McCoy assured. "Seems someone injected him with a sedative and a strong one at that. He'll be out for the next ten or so hours."

"Sedative? But how?" Bobby questioned thinking back to the way he found his friend. "I didn't see any marks on him."

"I found a small mark on the palm of his hand." Dr. McCoy explained. "My guess would be that the person who did this grabbed his hand for some reason. Maybe a fake trip or a hand shake or something like that. In any case you can take him home. There's nothing I can do for him and I'd rather he wasn't here when he found out what happened. I don't think my wallet could take it."

"I hear ya" Bobby replied with a grimace. He wasn't looking forward to that reaction either. "Let's go help the doc get your dad in the car, Dean." He said taking the youngster by the hand. They followed the doctor into the back room and helped him load John into a wheelchair. Bobby helped Dean sit on his dad's lap to keep the hunter from tumbling out and then steered the wheelchair out of the door and down the hall to the entrance.

Seeing Bobby headed for the door Joshua hurried over. Glancing down at John he frowned. "He okay? What'd the doc say?" he asked adjusting the treats in his arms.

"He's fine just got knocked out by a sedative." Bobby informed his friend. "Doc thinks he'll be out all night."

"Crap!" Joshua growled. "That doesn't help us any!"

"Josh." Bobby warned motioning to Dean. He wheeled the chair over to the impala and set the brakes. Unlocking the car he swiftly opened the back door and ushered Dean inside.

Joshua tossed his armful of food into the front seat and then stepped over to the chair to help Bobby. Taking John's right arm he helped his friend maneuver the unconscious Winchester into the back seat and shut the door. Climbing into the front passenger side he glanced into the rearview mirror heart breaking at the lost expression on Dean's face. Knowing there was nothing he could do right now for the kid Joshua resorted to what he did best; making people laugh. "Heads up, Dean!" he called as he threw the pack of peanut M&M's into the back followed by a Coke. "Oh, and here you go Bobby." he added tossing an orange box and a plastic bottle toward the driver.

"What the hell, Josh?" Bobby asked looking at the box of shredded wheat and bottle of prune juice in disgust.

"What?" Josh innocently questioned. "I'm just looking out for you man. They say shredded wheat and prune juice is good for old folks like you. Keeps you regular." Joshua smiled as the sound of Dean's laughter filled the impala. Mission accomplished.

The next morning

Sharon poked the syringe into the small vial of clear liquid and carefully pulled the plunger back drawing up the just the right amount. Setting the vial aside she flicked the syringe with her finger to get rid of any bubbles and stepped up to the bed. Glancing down at the sleeping boy she felt momentarily sorry for the kid. He looked so young and innocent in his sleep. More like a child than the young man he was. Squelching those thoughts before they could go any farther Sharon quickly pushed up the boy's sleeve and injected him with the sedative. Positive that he would be sleeping for some time she tossed the syringe in the trashcan and left the room. She had some shopping to do.

At an undisclosed location

The trickster watched Sharon leave her cabin and head into town before turning the channel to the Singer household. He laughed as John ranted and raved while cussing up a storm. The man had quite an extensive vocabulary to be the father of two small boys.

Settling in with his box of popcorn he delighted in watching Winchester and his friends running around like chickens with their heads cut off. While a witch taking Sammy hadn't been part of his plan, it was certainly turning out to be very entertaining. There was only one thing that could make it even better; being part of the action. Clicking off the television the trickster ran to his closet, pulled out the perfect outfit for the occasion, and blinked out of the room to join in the fun.

At the library that afternoon

John gazed at the high school yearbook once more before slamming it shut in frustration. They had spent all morning and a good part of the afternoon searching the IHOP and surrounding area for any clues to Sammy's whereabouts. They'd hunted for hidden security cameras and talked to dozens of possible witnesses with no luck. The closest they had come was some old coot in overalls and a dirty t shirt that told them he had seen a woman and a boy matching Sammy's description in a car headed for the outskirts of town. Even said that he thought the woman lived in a cabin about three miles from town. But they had quickly tossed that information. The old geezer smelled like he had fallen into a vat of his own moonshine. Probably didn't even know what day it was let alone what happened to Sammy. Reaching for the next year book in the stack John prayed that this would be the one to lead them to the woman who had taken his baby boy.

At the cabin

Sharon mashed the leaves into a fine powder and sprinkled them into the brewing potion smiling at the puff of purple smoke that arose from the pot. "It's finally ready" she whispered taking off her apron. "Now to get the boy." She hurried down the hall and into the bedroom housing her guest. After assuring herself that he was still out for the count, Sharon took the knife off the dresser and cut away the ropes that were binding the boy's hands and feet. Taking him by the arms she pulled him off the bed with a thud and began dragging him to the living room where she could finish what she started.

At the undisclosed location

The trickster frowned at the screen as Sharon drug Sammy down the hall. Switching to the Winchesters he was shocked to see them in a library instead of barreling down the road to save the day. After all he had practically drawn them a map to Sammy's location. Huffing out a disgruntled breath at the slow minded mortals the trickster stood. "Guess I'll have to fix this myself" he grumbled as he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

At the cabin

"Need some help there?" the trickster called out laughing as Sharon jumped a mile. "I'll take that as a yes." He walked over, took Sammy out of a stunned Sharon's arms, and deposited him on the couch.

"Who, who are you?" Sharon asked staring at the immortal.

"No one you want to mess with" the trickster replied. "Now since you've been so much fun, I'm gonna be nice and give you a chance to get out of this scot free. Leave now and you get to stay alive and happy."

Sharon's expression grew stormy as she took in the man's words. She didn't know who this guy was or how he got here but she wasn't about to let him ruin what she had worked so hard for. Smiling evilly at the short man she leaned down and got in his face. "Not a chance. This boy and his powers are mine. Now I suggest you leave before you make me do something you'll regret." She threatened. Turning her back on her adversary Sharon strolled over to the table and picked up a large ornate knife. Walking up to the couch she grabbed Sammy's arm and pushed up his sleeve.

"Whoa there Broomhilda! Afraid I can't let you do that." The trickster stated grabbing the woman's arm.

"Can't let me! CAN'T LET ME!" Sharon bellowed. "How dare you come into my house and tell me what to do! I've waited a life time for powers like his and I intend to have them. Now get out of my way, little man!"

"Ohhh, you want power! Why didn't you just say so? I can do that." The trickster crowed snapping his fingers. The knife clattered to the floor as Sharon suddenly disappeared. Walking over to the window the trickster drew back the curtain and glanced across the street at the power lines. Seeing one line wiggling a little he chuckled. "That enough power for you, bitch?" He watched the line squirm for a few minutes before turning away from the window. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the wall. It was time for a little family reunion.

On the road

The impala roared down the deserted highway out of town groaning as it was pushed to its limits. It flew past woods and lakes as it raced to get to the small cabin where the youngest Winchester was being held.

"There! That's the driveway!" Bobby called pointing to the dirt path on the right. He held on for dear life as the impala spun part way around before careening down the narrow dirt drive and slamming to a stop inches from the bumper of a car.

Cutting the engine John leapt out and dashed up the stairs of the porch. Snatching his gun out of the back of his jeans he took hold of the doorknob and slowly opened the door. He swept the room with his eyes looking for any sign of Sammy's kidnapper before stalking over to the couch. Ignoring Bobby and Josh as they entered the house guns drawn and started searching John sat down beside his sleeping son. He set his gun on the table next to the couch and lightly touched Sammy's cheek. "Sammy? Sammy? Time to wake up, kiddo." He called as he gently shook his little boy.

Sammy slowly opened his eyes and blinked up at his daddy. Yawning he glanced around the unfamiliar room before turning back to John. "Daddy, where are we? Is this our new house?" he asked as he sat up and laid his head on John's shoulder.

"No baby" John soothed as he wrapped his arms around his son. "Uncle Bobby just had something he needed to do here. We'll go back to the salvage yard after he's through."

"Okay daddy" Sammy replied closing his eyes once more. He didn't know why, but he was really tired.

John sat and allowed Sammy to rest while he waited for Bobby and Joshua to finish searching the building. Minutes later the sound of footsteps had him looking up. He relaxed as Bobby came into the room followed several minutes later by Josh. Both men shook their heads in answer to John's unspoken question. Nodding in understanding John slowly stood up and scooped Sammy into his arms. Together the three hunters walked out of the cabin and to the impala and Sammy's big brother.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

Warning- some spoilers for Season Four episodes

Well, we made it to the end of another story. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read the story. Hopefully the ending doesn't disappoint. I've had it in mind since the story started.

Previously on Supernatural- Nodding in understanding John slowly stood up and scooped Sammy into his arms. Together the three hunters walked out of the cabin and to the impala and Sammy's big brother.

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Bobby stopped the impala beside his porch steps and cut the engine. Opening the door he climbed out of the car and swiftly raced up the steps to unlock the front door. Once he'd unlocked and opened the door he held it open standing to the side to let John and Josh carry a still sleeping Sammy inside. After the trio and Dean walked into the house, Bobby carefully scanned the grounds around the house and then went inside. "How's Sammy?" he asked stepping up to the couch where John was smoothing a blanket over his little boy.

"He's fine, just sleeping. I think that bitch that took him must have used that sedative on Sammy, too. Probably gave him more than one dose to make sure he stayed under." John quietly growled.

"Don't worry, Johnny. We'll find the witch that did this to Sammy and make her pay." Joshua vowed heading for the door. "This whole situation feels off. Something's wrong here, I can feel it. It doesn't make sense for her to have gone to all the trouble of kidnapping Sammy and calling us to boast just to disappear before we get to her location. I think I'll go back and search the cabin again. Make sure we didn't miss anything."

"I'll go with you, Josh." Bobby called out grabbing his keys once more.

"No, you stay here." Joshua replied. "I have a feeling that when short stuff wakes up, he's gonna be extremely hungry and you and I both know that John can't cook worth a flip."

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm a decent cook." John grumbled scowling at the twin smirks on his friends' faces.

"Microwave popcorn don't count John." Bobby pointed out as he set his keys back down. "And don't say toast cause you always burn it." Turning to Josh he said, "Alright, I'll stay here and cook up a feast. You just make sure you're careful. I don't want to have to explain to Sammy how I let his Uncle Josh get hurt."

"Awww, nice to know you care Singer." Joshua joked. He reached over and grasped the doorknob. "I'll let you guys know if I find anything." He called over his shoulder before stepping out into the evening.

"Come on Dean. Let's go fix some supper before that brother of yours wakes up." Bobby urged heading for the kitchen.

"Can we make hash brown casserole, Uncle Bobby?" Dean asked as he followed his uncle into the kitchen. "Sammy really likes that."

"Sure can champ!" Bobby agreed. Going to the cabinets he took out a huge yellow bowl, spoons, measuring cups, and other items. Setting them on the counter he quickly scooped up the older boy and placed him on the counter beside the bowl. Bobby then gathered the casserole ingredients and tossed them on the counter as well. "There you go, Dean. You start on the casserole and I'll work on the fried chicken and salad."

"Okay, Uncle Bobby" Dean said placing the soup can in the can opener and pressing the button down.

A couple of hours later

Bobby was taking the hash brown casserole out of the oven when a shuffling noise caught his attention. Setting the dish on the stove to cool he turned to the doorway and smiled as the youngest Winchester slowly tottered into the room and dropped into a chair. "Hey there Sammy. You hungry?" he asked as he walked over to the boy and ruffled his sleep tossed hair.

"Yes sir" Sammy managed around a yawn. He blinked sleepily up at his uncle. "Can we have casserole?"

"Way ahead of you, sport." Bobby replied. He grabbed some plates out of the cabinet by the sink and set the table. Picking up Sammy's plate he loaded it with a chicken leg and a heaping portion of the casserole. "Here you go kiddo." He watched Sammy take a few bites of casserole before snatching up his own plate and going to the counter to fill it up.

He only managed to scoop one spoonful of casserole on his plate before someone knocked at the door. Sighing he set down his plate and quickly walked into the other room. Seeing Joshua through the small window in the front door he rolled his eyes and called out, "For Pete's sake, Josh! Don't stand there and knock like an idgit! Come on in! The door's open!"

Frowning Josh pressed his face against the window. "I can't open it! It's locked!" he hollered.

"Can't open the door, my ass." Bobby grumbled stomping over to the door in question. After checking to make sure that the door was indeed unlock, he grabbed the doorknob and pulled wincing at the pain that shot up his arm as the door remained firmly shut. With a growing sense of dread Bobby grasped the doorknob with both hands and tugged once more. Nothing happened.

"Trickster?" Josh questioned from his spot on the other side of the door.

"Evidently" Bobby agreed. "Try the back door while I see about the windows."

Bobby and Josh went to each and every door and window in the house searching for one that would open. But not one would budge in the slightest. Even the chair that Bobby slammed against one of the windows didn't work. In fact it didn't even leave a small dent. They were well and truly trapped in the house.

Angered and worried by his friends' plight Joshua paced in front of the kitchen door. He was gonna need help with this one. Rapping on the door he waited for Bobby to appear and then spoke. "I'm gonna go back to the house and call for reinforcements. You guys just sit tight. We'll get you out of this mess as fast as we can."

"Thanks Josh" Bobby called out. He watched his friend disappear into the dark night and then turned back to the table to find two curious sets of eyes staring at him. "Looks like the trickster doesn't want us going anywhere. He's got us on lockdown for the moment." He announced. Seeing Dean's eyes go wide with fear he quickly added, "But don't worry. Josh is on it. He's gonna get a hold of some of the guys and they'll get us out of here in no time."

"Course they will" John assured smiling as his eldest son relaxed at his words.

Seeing Sammy's head slowly sliding towards his chest Bobby chuckled. "Think we better get a certain little guy in bed before he falls face first into his plate." He softly whispered walking up to Sammy's chair. He carefully removed the spoon from Sammy's hand and set it on the table. Wrapping an arm around the boy's waist Bobby threw Sammy's left arm over his shoulder as John did the same on the boy's other side. With a quick nod the two pulled Sammy up into a standing position smiling as Dean grabbed the chair and set it out of the way. The two men then carried Sammy back into the living room and laid him down on the couch once more. Bobby handed John the blanket that had fallen to the floor earlier and then quietly walked out of the room to give his friends a little privacy. He stepped into his library and plopped down at his desk. Needing to do something useful he snatched up an old tome on tricksters, threw it open, and started reading. He searched the books far into the night before finally falling asleep as the first rays of the early morning sun began to shine through the dusty window.

The next morning

"Tsk, tsk! Sleeping on the job! Thought you were a better hunter than that Winchester!" an annoying voice loudly whispered in John's ear.

Jumping up John spun around to confront the voice and found himself face to face with the trickster. "What the hell? How did you get in here?" he barked.

"Oh, please! Did you really think all those wards and protection signs could keep me out?" the trickster laughed. "Do I look like a demon or spirit to you?"

"No, you look like a…"

"Now John, let's be nice." The trickster warned. "After all there's Sammy to think about. His time's almost out."

John glared at the trickster. Advancing on his advasary he leaned over to look the immortal in the face and growled, "Now listen you son of a…"

"Jeremy, my name is Jeremy or at least that's one of my names." The trickster informed him. "Come on now. I know you can do it. Say Jeremy. Come on, its easy. Jer-e-my"

Groaning in frustration John reigned in his temper deciding to play along for the moment. "Fine Jeremy it is." John conceded. "Now how about turning Sammy back? This fight is between you and me. He has nothing to do with it."

"OH, but he does. This has everything to do with little Sammy there." The trickster corrected. Glancing over to the stairs he called out, "Come on out Mr. Singer! I know you're there." Jeremy waited for Bobby to step out of the shadows and walk over to stand behind the couch. "Good. Now that we're all here, we can finish this."

"Dad! Dad!" Dean hollered from his spot on the couch beside Sammy. "The clock's on zero! It says Time's up!"

"Don't worry Dean! Bobby and I will handle this." John comforted.

"Yeah, bang up job you've done so far." The trickster grumbled. "I mean, really I practically handed you that witch on a silver platter and you just overlooked it as the rumblings of an old drunk. If it hadn't been for me interfering young Sammy would be no more."

"Wait! You mean you took care of that bitch that took Sammy?" John asked the same time as Bobby shouted, "You were the old coot in overalls?"

"Yes and yes" Jeremy replied clapping his hands. "Bout time guys."

"I don't get it. Why hurt Sammy only to turn around and save him from that witch?" Bobby asked watching as John eased closer to the boys.

"I never hurt Sammy." Jeremy huffed looking offended by the idea. "I simply changed his appearance to prove a point. Anything that happened to the kid has to be laid on his daddy's shoulders." Turning angry eyes to John he added, "Oh no you don't Johnny boy." Snapping his fingers he picked up John, Dean, and Bobby and set them on the other side of the room. "Can't let you get too close to the kid yet. I'm not through making my point yet."

"What point?" John ground out. "You keep talking but so far you haven't said anything that made any sense. So how about spelling it out for us?"

"Party pooper" Jeremy pouted. He looked at the group of angry men and sighed. "Fine. I'll cut to the chase. This whole thing was to show you John that you need to be a father to both your boys. Quit placing the burden of looking after little Sammy on his brother's shoulders."

"Why does that matter to you? You're an immortal. How I treat my boys is none of your concern." John shouted.

"Yes it is. See, I have a vested interest in these boys growing up happy. And that won't happen if you shirk your duties as a daddy." Jeremy explained.

"Daddy?" a sleepy voice called from the couch.

Glancing over John saw Sammy sitting up on the couch rubbing his eyes. "It's okay, Sammy. Daddy's just having a little talk with a friend." He assured his youngest.

"Friend? Me? Isn't that sweet?" Jeremy crowed placing a hand over his heart. "Just for that I think I'll be nice. I'll give you a glimpse of what will happen if you don't straighten up and start acting like a daddy." Waving his hand at Sammy he grinned at the furious shouts as the boy's head dropped to his chest. "Silence!" he yelled smirking as the men instantly obeyed. "That's better. Now gentlemen, I must warn you that what you are about to see isn't pretty. This is what Sammy will become if you continue to pass your fatherly duties on to Dean." Turning to Sammy he softly called, "Sam! Sam! Time to wake up."

John, Bobby, and Dean watched as Sammy slowly raised his head to stare at them. All three sucked in a breath as they caught sight of the youngest family member's eyes. The bright sparkling eyes full of curiousity had been replaced with dull, lifeless eyes that had seen far too much in their short life time. They stood frozen as Sam looked Dean and Bobby over before his eyes fell on John.

Anguish covered the young man's face as tears began streaming down his cheeks. He was off the couch and racing across the room in a flash. Throwing his arms around John Sam buried his face in his dad's neck and tightened his hug. "Dad! Dad, I so sorry I was such a bad son. I'm sorry I was always fighting with you, that I always managed to screw things up and disappoint you. I'm sorry I wasn't the son you needed, a son like Dean." He cried as he clung to John.

"Hey, Sammy? Sammy, you're wrong. You've not a bad son." John assured him as he began rubbing his son's back. "You are my little boy and I love you. You could never do anything to disappoint me. Never. Understand?"

Sammy just shook his head crying harder at his father's words. "No, you, you don't understand. I do dis-disappoint you. You said so yourself lots of times. But I understand why you were so hard on me now. Why you didn't want me around and it's okay. I know what I have to do and I'm gonna make you proud this time."

"Sammy, what are you talking about kiddo?" John asked but Sam just released the death grip he had on his dad and stepped over to Bobby.

Swiping a hand across his eyes he looked Bobby in the eyes and smiled. "Hey, Bobby. I uhh, I want you to do something for me." He said dropping his eyes to the floor. "If anything ever happens to me, I want you to promise you'll look after Dean for me. Don't let him do anything stupid."

"Sure sport" Bobby agreed as he gave Sam a quick hug. "You know you ain't gotta ask that. You two boys are like my own."

"Thanks Bobby" Sammy said frowning when the trickster cleared his throat and pointed to his watch. Sighing Sam left Bobby and slowly walked over to his big brother. He knelt down in front of Dean breathe hitching as his brother wrapped his arms around him. He sat for a minute reveling in his big brother's strong grip and enjoying the comfort that the hug provided. It had been a long time since Dean had touched him like that. In fact the only times Dean had touched him lately was when he punched him. Knowing he didn't have much time left he took a deep breath and started. "Dean, I need, I need you to remember something for me. I need you to know that I didn't mean anything I said under the siren's spell. Not the way it came out anyway. You are the, the strongest person I know. Always have been. And you're the best hunter ever. Dude, you're even better than dad." He managed to get out between sobs. He took a moment to get himself under control again and then continued. "But ever since you came back from…" he glared up at the trickster as his voice suddenly left him.

"No telling the future Sammy" Jeremy scolded. Seeing a curt nod from the youngest Winchester he snapped his fingers. "Time's almost up, kid."

Sam glanced at Jeremy for a moment longer and then turned back to Dean. "You were so different when you came back. It scared me to see you like that and know that it was all my fault. So I decided to do what you've always done for me. I decided that I would be the strong one, the brother you could lean on until you were ready to be your old self again. But it's not helping. I'm just making things worse for you just like I did with dad. But don't worry. I finally figured out what I need to do. I couldn't sa…help dad but I can fix things for you. I can finish this mess and then you can live out the rest of your life in peace. You can settle down and start a family or whatever you want to do and never have to worry about demons again." Standing Sam gave his big brother a small smile and then turned to the trickster. "Okay, I'm ready." He said.

2009

Dean Winchester shot straight up in bed gasping for breath. How had he forgotten their first run in with the trickster known as Jeremy? Memories of Sammy changing back his little boy self and his dad and Bobby celebrating the death of the trickster flooded his mind. _"Yeah, death."_ Dean thought recalling the last two times they had come up against the very same trickster. _"Guess stakes to the heart aren't the right way after all." _Closing his eyes Dean slowed his breathing and calmed himself down. Once he had his breathing under control he opened his eyes and glanced around the room smirking at the sight of Bobby sitting in a wooden chair fast asleep. The old man was definitely gonna be stiff in the morning from sleeping in that position all night.

Chuckling quietly Dean turned and looked at his little brother's bed starting when he found it empty. Scanning the room he quickly noticed the bathroom door ajar and the light on. Satisfied that his brother hadn't left again he laid back down placing his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes only to open them back up as Sam's desperate face shot through his brain. Gazing at the ceiling Dean replayed Sam's confession to him all those years ago. He wasn't sure if he believed the kid or not. After all, Sam had been lying to him ever since he got back from Hell. But then again what he'd said did make sense. It sounded just like something Sammy would cook up in that overactive brain of his. Which reminded him. Sam had been in the bathroom for an awfully long time. Sitting back up Dean listened to the sounds of the room straining to hear any noise from the bathroom. Hearing nothing he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood. That's when it hit him. Sam had said, "I can finish this mess and then you can live out the rest of your life in peace." Not we, but you like he didn't expect to…Dean cut that thought off as he raced to the bathroom. He threw open the door wrinkling his nose at the rancid smell of sickness. He glanced over to the toilet and his mouth dropped in shock. There on the cold tile floor lay Sam curled up in a ball and shaking. He was kneeling by Sam's side in two strides. Reaching up Dean quickly closed the toilet and flushed it never taking his eyes off his little brother. "Sammy" Dean softly called frowning when Sam didn't even twitch. He didn't remember Sam being hurt in the siren induced fight but then again he hadn't exactly been paying attention either. He'd just drove back to the motel room, allowed Bobby to tend to his shoulder wound, and then stomped to the bathroom for a shower. By the time he had gotten out Sammy was asleep. He just figured the kid was upset that his little secret was out. But that definitely wasn't the case. Needing to know what was wrong so he could fix it Dean gently turned Sam on his back causing his brother to whimper in pain. Concerned Dean carefully settled Sammy on his side again and lifted the back of his shirt revealing bruises littering his back. Dean assessed each bruise being as gentle as possible. Finally satisfied that there was no internal bleeding Dean focused on Sam's head. He ran his fingers gently through Sam's hair easily locating the golf ball sized knot on the back of his head. Brushing the hair out of his way Dean scutinized the lump letting his brother's long hair fall back into place once he made sure there was no gash that needed tending.

Plopping down on his behind beside his little brother Dean clenched his fists. How had he missed Sam's injuries? He always knew when his little brother was hurt or sick. It was part of his job as big brother. When had he stopped being Sammy's older brother? "When I came back from Hell" he muttered kicking himself. He had been so depressed and upset about what he had done in Hell that he had somehow stepped into Sam's role of little brother. And if he were honest with himself he knew that another part of his lack of Sam knowledge came from him being a little annoyed with the fact that Sam had managed to do alright without him. I mean, sure he wanted Sam to be able to go on without him but it still hurt a little to see that he did. Add that to the fact that Sam was consorting with a demon and using his powers even though he'd promised he wouldn't and it was easy for Dean to see how he'd lost track of Sam's needs. "Well that's gonna change right now."Dean determinedly whispered. "I'm taking my role as big brother back and you can have the little brother job back, Sam. I've had more than enough chick flick moments since I got back to last ten life times. Hell, I've done more crying and whining than a whole kindergarten class put together and that's just wr…" He broke off when he heard a low moan coming from Sam. Leaning down Dean tapped his brother's cheek. "Sammy? Come on Sam open your eyes. Come on buddy, you can do it. Open those eyes for me." He coaxed smiling as Sam's eyelids fluttered then opened revealing two confused hazel eyes.

"De?" Sam croaked attempting to sit up.

Placing a hand on Sam's chest Dean gently held him down. "Not so fast there kiddo. Looks like you've got yourself a concussion." He told his brother as he took hold of one of Sam's arms and threw it over his shoulder. "Now, we're gonna take this slow and easy, okay. Let me do the work. You just concentrate on staying awake and not puking, alright?" He took Sam's groan as a yes and slowly stood the both of them up keeping a firm grip on Sammy when he swayed. "Alright now Sam just a few steps and you can lay down again. And then tomorrow you and I are gonna have a little talk about how we are going to destroy Lilith together so we can enjoy the rest of our lives. Got it?" Dean chuckled at the confused look on Sam's face. The kid wouldn't even remember the conversation come morning but that was alright. Dean had every intention of having that talk with Sammy even if he had to tie him to the bed to get him to listen.

"Need any help, Dean?" Bobby sleepily asked as the two brothers trudged out of the bathroom.

"Nah, Bobby. I got him." Dean assured the older hunter as he half carried Sam over to the nearest bed and gently eased him onto it. Leaning down he placed the blanket over his brother and whispered, "Go to sleep Sammy. Big brother's back."

The End

AN- Okay, hope I did okay with a grown Sam and Dean. I've never written them before. But I needed to try to fix how things ended after the siren induced battle. Oh, and I hope I got the trickster's name right. It was Jeremy, wasn't it?


End file.
